The Saga of Corin
by forkicksan'giggles
Summary: My name is Corin, and I am an eevee. I thought my life was complete. I had a territory, plenty of food and my only concerns were finding mates and avoiding trainers. Until the day my life turned completely upside down. It all started of all things, with an ice cream cone...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A Fated Meeting on Route 203

It all started with a battle. This battle wasn't a battle for the eons, or status. Depending on who you are, the battle may have seemed typical. For me though, the battle I was in meant everything to me. You see, I was the target. That's right. I'm a pokemon. An eevee to be exact. It is said that my kind is rare to find in the wild. Perhaps it is because we are so good at adapting to our surroundings that we are rarely seen. There are more of us than even the pokedex holders may realize. I want to say that in the battle I was in, I faced legendary monsters and a powerful trainer that guided them. In truth, it was a little girl and like it or not at the time, my battle with her completely changed my life.

I hated change.

Some pokemon try to tell me that change is a good thing. It causes the berries to ripen and brings the rains. To me, change meant nothing but loss. My life had changed the day the doom bringer caused the death of my father. It changed again the day a human took my mother and forced me to strike out on my own. I find it ironic now that I wound up facing the same fate as my mother.

I faced the human girl with arrogant confidence. She was clearly upset that I had utterly clobbered her starly, whom she had named Capistrano. I knew this because that was the name she shrieked as her starly hit the ground. I sat back on my haunches and idly scratched a tick from my ear as she scooped up Capistrano, lines of worry for him etched on her pale, rounded face. The starly had been complete idiot. He had fallen for one of the oldest tricks taught in the wild. I had lulled him into believing I was cute and harmless by wagging my tail. When he dove in for the attack, I ducked him and countered with a tackle of my own. The sucker never stood a chance. And now the girl before me was cradling her fallen friend and cooing reassurances. I would have found it sweet if I had not held such contempt for her, or humans in general.

A sudden movement caused me to look up from my grooming. The girl had risen from the ground with a despicable red and white ball clutched in her fist. Her nervous demeanor had been replaced with and expression of what looked like... determination? I couldn't really tell since I wasn't taking her very seriously.

I rose to my paws with a grin."Make this next foe worth my time," I sneered. Of course she didn't understand me.

Humans are stupid like that.

The girl's ball whizzed through the air rolling to a stop in front of me. She shouted over the sound of the opening capsule, "Go Sye!"

What appeared in front of me made me laugh. She might as well as thrown out a magikarp for all the good it did her. An unremarkable abra sat silently in front of me. Grinning fiercely, I trotted forward till I was face to face with my opponent.

"What are you gonna do, snore at me?" I said through my snickering.

I was familiar with abra. They especially enjoyed snoozing out in the sun next to the small, glassy lake where I had claimed my turf and where we now were battling. All they ever did was sleep and teleport to safety. On days when I was feeling particularly tricksy, I would try to push them into the water. I gotta hand it to abras though. Their intuition was so good that they would teleport away from me before I could even touch them. I circled the abra named Sye. Tickling his nose with my tail as I kept up my teasing,"Your trainer is pitiful. She doesn't know what a proper challenge is," I shoved my face in his and bared my teeth. "Now teleport away before I really get nasty."

I was inwardly hoping to scare the abra off. I was getting a little tired of fighting and all I wanted to do was lay low for a little while. However, Sye responded in a way that still makes me shudder when I think back on it.

His eyes snapped open.

And they were glowing an eerie blue.

I jumped with a squeak (completely on purpose) and fell back on my tail. I had no idea that abras could even open their eyes let alone ooze power like the one in front of me did. My unkept fur bristled as a wave of cold panic swept through me. I suddenly found myself wanting to run as fast as my legs could carry me and bury myself in the deepest hole I could dig. Before I realized what I was doing, I had backed away a few paces from what was a seemingly harmless abra. A shiver went down my spine as I felt a presence worm it's way into my brain.

_ "I'm waiting for you to get nasty eevee...Or are you nothing but talk and no bite?"_

A quiet voice that was definitely not mine floated across my thoughts. Holy Arceus, this thing was inside my mind! The realization terrified me and at the same time ticked me off. He hadn't even bothered to ask me out on a date first. The anger was enough to allow me to shake off my fear and I leapt at Sye with a snarl,"Get out of my head you jerk!"

Of course I should have expected him to teleport out of my reach but it still surprised me when he did and I wound up flat on my face. Though Sye's mouth was closed, his eyes flashed and another wave of cold swept through my head. Through that sensation, I swore I could hear laughter.

This wormy fruit-basket was mocking me!

_ "Nice tackle eevee. I could really feel the breeze on that one,"_ Sye said, rather thought through his laughter.

I lunged at him with a roar. Screw strategy and screw running away! This punk was going down! Again, he teleported just out of my reach. It didn't matter to me. I was going to run this clown down even if I had to chase him across Sinnoh.

How I wish I could tell you that was exactly what I did. How I got ahead of his annoying teleportation ability and pounded his smug face into the ground. The truth was that I was bone tired. I had fought earlier that day defending my turf against an uppity kricketot. Before I had even thought to rest, I had wanted to celebrate my victory by going for ice cream in the nearby city the humans call Jubilife. I had snatched myself a cone from the hands of a small girl.

Little did I know this girl turned out to be the very trainer I was facing now. She incredibly had chased me down the cobblestone path, up mossy flights of stairs and through grass blanketed plains until she finally managed to corner me at the lake. I had claimed that place because it had a nice view. I was regretting it now since I had no way out.

Sheesh! I just wanted some ice cream for Pete's sake!

I raced after Sye up and down the shoreline. Every time I pounced, he would teleport just out of my reach. I had realized my foolish mistake when I could no longer run and just stood panting heavily, my legs about to give out from under me. Of course that was when Sye appeared right before my eyes.

I was expecting him to hit me with a psychic whammy, or some other move that would put me in a world of hurt. Instead, he reached out with a tiny hand and gently pushed me. I was so tired the gesture nearly toppled me completely. I had to stagger just to stay upright. What irritated me the most through this whole battle was that Sye knew how tired I was from the beginning. He was toying with me, relishing my exhaustion. My lips pulled back into a snarl as the cold once again invaded my thoughts.

_ "Yield eevee... My trainer is very kind. She will treat you fairly."_

Yeah right. Like I would believe that. Kind human or cruel, a pokeball was still a prison.

"Suck a stick abra!" I spat, "I'll show you what I think of the one who holds your leash!"

With the last of my energy, I threw myself bodily at the girl which Sye had taken most of his focus off of. I was determined to at least sweep her legs out from under her before I was captured. Served her right if I scraped her knees.

Sadly, it just wasn't my day. I hadn't even gotten halfway there when the girl's startled cry echoed in my ears. "Sye! Psychic now!"

I briefly remember seeing the scared look of the girl as I threw myself at her.

That was when my head exploded.

At least, that was what it felt like. The pain was so intense I could not see. Up was down and down was up. When the pain finally subsided to the point that I could see, I found that I had fallen on my side at the girl's feet and my throat felt hoarse from what I was sure was from screaming. Sye had placed himself protectively next to the girl. His glowing blue eyes blazing for what I didn't have to sense was fury.

_ "Ha...Take that brainiac..."_ I thought wearily not caring if he could read my thoughts at the moment.

I knew what was coming next even as I watched the girl pull a red and white ball from her pack. What I remember now,was back then I had found it strange that she was wearing a saddened expression on her face.

It was difficult, but I had managed to get shakily to my paws fighting the urge to puke. I wanted to at least keep some of my dignity. I shrieked a defiant curse that did not sound at all terrified, (I swear) as the ball flew at me. Then my turf, my lake, my world, went black.

(Author's note)

Dear readers,

Well here it is! The end of chapter one and my first attempt ever at a fan fiction. I had actually wanted to do this for fun, for a while now. But I either could not work up the courage or was just too busy. I would love some feedback though please! Let me know if you want me to continue writing. I would also love some constructive criticism about my writing too if you please. Note I say constructive criticism. How can I possibly improve my writing if I only have the terms "You suck!" to go on? I apologize that I chose my protagonist to be an Eevee. I know this is common, but I chose him because of the potential he possesses. Plus, depending on how successful my fic becomes, I will allow the readers to eventually choose which evolutionary form I will have him take. Thanks for reading!

Sincerely, Forkicksan'giggles


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Mug Shot

I came to inside what I figured was a pokeball.

There was a small place in the back of my mind that was nagging me about something, but I couldn't quite place my paw on it at the moment. I was so relaxed it felt as though I was floating. I didn't think I could ever recall a time when I had ever felt this...peaceful.

Being inside a pokeball is a strange experience. You are conscious, but you're not necessarily aware or even really care about it. It's similar to riding a bike or walking down a familiar path that you have taken so many times that your body moves on it's own but your mind is elsewhere. Next thing you know you've gotten to where you need to be and your memories of how you got there are a complete blank. What personally disturbs me the most about being inside a pokeball, is how easily you lose track of time. Days can fly by like minutes when you're inside a pokeball.

It's why I never stay in one.

The moment I could remember that even remotely came close to how I was currently feeling, was the time when I was very young. Something in the night had scared me. It might have been a howl, or a flicker of movement in the darkened grass. I don't really remember what it was that frightened me, but I do remember bolting to the safety of my den and diving under my mother whimpering. She curled protectively around me and gently groomed the baby fur on top of my head while whispering soothing words into my ears. Nestled in my mother's fur, I felt warm and safe. Like nothing could ever get me.

It's sad that little ones are born so naive. It makes reality that much more painful when it strikes.

It wasn't long after that moment that the human came. I don't remember him or what he looked like. He only looked to me to be something out of my worst nightmare. I was too frightened to move from the spot my mother had hidden me before the battle. I could only watch helplessly as my mother, who I thought was the strongest pokemon in all of Sinnoh, get beaten down savagely by her opponent and pitched into one of those horrible pokeballs. By the time I could move again, the human had been long gone. It still didn't stop me from trying to find my mother and I really did my best to follow the human's scent. I was still just a kit though and I quickly lost the scent and then got lost myself. I wound up running in circles crying piteously for my mother. I never saw her again after that.

That was what had been bugging me earlier! The battle with that goody-two shoes abra, my defeat, my capture, it all came flooding back to me with pin sharp clarity. I had to get out of this blasted ball!

Getting out of a pokeball is not walk in the park I assure you. You have to want to get out. I mean really want it. Even then, it's not a guarantee. The way I was able to pull it off was to take how I was feeling and with a bit of imagination and a lot of will power, reverse it. For example, I took the feeling of being in a nice warm nest while watching a blizzard rage outside my den. Then I imagined that nest was soaked in grimer sludge, set on fire, filled with rabid gabites and put my den in the direct path of a Hyperbeam attack. See? Easy. I roared as the ball popped open and I again found the ground beneath me.

"DON'T YOU EVER PUT ME IN THAT THING AGAIN!"

"Oh ho ho!" I heard a deep voice say behind me. "It would seem, your new eevee is quite headstrong yes?"

I whirled around to glare at the one who spoke. The girl who I'd battled with, was standing next to a large wooden desk with a shocked expression and was still holding the pokeball I used to be in. The speaker was the man sitting behind the desk and he was wearing a small smile as he watched me with amused but calculating eyes. Now that I wasn't in the heat of a battle, I had time to study my captors more closely.

The girl appeared young, not quite the age when they have the option to become a full fledged trainer, but close. She had long, shimmering, murkrow black hair, that she wore in a braid and stretched down to the small of her back. Her eyes were large and full of life and naivety, colored as green as the tallest grasses where I would roam. Her skin was fair yet a light bronze as though kissed by the sun. She was more arms and legs than body, but she was beginning to show signs of development. At the time, I had no idea what clothes were. I had always thought they were skins that humans would fashion for themselves because they didn't have any of their own. She was wearing what I now know was a lilac colored sun dress with pale yellow edges that draped well on her shoulders, dipped just right on her neckline and stopped at her knees. On her feet, she wore miltank leather sandals that now were muddied when she chased me.

If I wasn't so angry at her at the moment, I might have found her cute.

The man on the other hand I had no problem in being infuriated at. He was older. An adult, but at the prime of his life. He kept his dark brown hair clipped short at the back, allowing it to grow a little longer at the front. He had heavy set eyebrows that rested above his sizable brown eyes. Unlike the girl's however, his eyes had a stern, scrutinizing look to them that practically screamed authority. He had a square jaw which had the beginnings of a five-o-clock shadow. The man's favorite color seemed to be brown since he apparently wore quite a bit of it. His suit was a chocolate brown that fit him comfortably along with matching brown pants and polished black shoes. He wore a crisp, white shirt under his suit and sported a light pink tie. He finally topped off his outfit with an overcoat (brown of course), with large black buttons, and an enormous collar that stretched almost to his shoulders.

He must have been cold or something to wear all that stuff.

Not taking my eyes off the humans I quickly scanned my surroundings. I was in a small, dimly lit, office that had no windows. There were boxes scattered across the room and packed suitcases near the door. It looked as though someone was getting ready to leave. I wouldn't blame them. There was a rather annoying leak coming from a rusty pipe that ran up the length of the far wall on my right and over the ceiling. I would want to get out too. I nearly jumped out of my pelt when I noticed the croagunk standing silently in the left corner closest to the desk. I hadn't even noticed he was there. The croagunk was watching my every movement under his ridiculous policeman's hat with steady eyes and faintly pulsating cheeks.

"Is there anything you can do for him Mr. Looker?" The girl said, her voice melodious yet with a touch of firmness. "Maybe, take him with you when you go home? You did say the case with Team Galactic is closed now so you are probably going back home right? Maybe you can release him there?"

Release? Home? What the heck was she talking about? I had no intention of leaving Sinnoh if I could help it, and I was not about to go anywhere with some weird man.

"Ah yes," Looker replied, "Alas that I cannot do Cindy. For you see, I have reasons for my refusal. Yes, two of them to be exact."

"What a nut job..." I muttered under my breath and out of earshot of the croagunk.

"You see Cindy," Looker continued, "to take a wild pokemon of the Sinnoh region out of the area with intent to enter another region and being without proper registration, is a violation of the law. Smuggling to be exact, and it is something that I, a member of the globe-trotting elite of the International Police, cannot do. Furthermore, I will not be returning to my home for I have been called on a new assignment. One that would take me to the far reaches of a place known as Unova. There, I am to investigate the workings of another shady group of adults that have sprang up. I am sorry Cindy, very deeply I am, but I'm afraid I cannot help you."

"You really like to hear yourself talk don't you?" I mumbled a little louder this time. The croagunk's cheeks got a little bigger, but he otherwise did nothing.

"So what should I do Mr. Looker?" The girl named Cindy asked, "He's a trouble maker. I can't keep him since mom wouldn't approve and I can't release him here. He'd just go back to his thuggish ways. I'm not old enough to start my pokemon journey yet either."

"Thug?! I'm no thug!" I exclaimed offended. "Those pokemon the people owned had it coming! If they can't defend the food that gets put in their bowls at night, maybe they shouldn't eat so much!"

Of course the humans didn't understand what I was saying, stupid humans. The croagunk however responded to my outburst.

"Korooo." He said accusingly.

"I didn't whup 'em that bad," I responded.

"Koro."

"But I didn't know I was trespassing."

"Koro, koro."

"If the humans don't want me to tip the food they put in their cans outside, then why in Arceus's name do they put them outside in the first place!?"

"Koro."

"Oh, go play in a busy street slime face."

Looker watched our little exchange before speaking to Cindy.

"A thought has crossed my mind. Cindy, if you had known how much of a hooligan this eevee was, why I wonder did you proceed in the pursuit and apprehension of him?"

I looked up at Cindy. I was wondering that myself. Why bother capturing me if she knew she had no way of keeping me? I mean, the ice cream I had taken from her wasn't that good.

"I don't know Mr. Looker," Cindy replied. "I think it had something to do with our meeting each other." She looked down at me and I glared back at her. "I can't really explain it, but I feel as though I'm drawn to him. Like I'm supposed to be his friend or something."

"Well, the feeling ain't mutual sister!" I snapped.

"Koro."

"Shut up!"

"Well, you seem to be in quite a predicament yes?" Looker said.

"What would happen to him if... I turned him over to the police?" Cindy asked.

The police? What did she mean by "turned over?"  
"I believe rogue pokemon are often kept in the custody of the police until a suitable trainer is found to keep them in check," Looker answered. "Since this eevee has shown his refusal to stay in a pokeball, he will probably be confined to a spare kennel reserved for the training of hoot hoots."

"So, he'd be in a cage then?" Cindy said quietly.

"Until a suitable trainer is found, yes."

"Oh I don't THINK so!" I barked.

"I can't do that to him..." Cindy said, her voice almost a whisper.

"If you all think I'm just gonna let you put me in a cage you- excuse me?!" I looked up from my ranting at Cindy. "What did you say?"

Cindy looked back at me. She was nervous but had that same look of determination that she wore before when she battled me.

"Corin is my responsibility and my friend now," She said with a small smile. "I can't abandon him just because things might get tough at home."

Oh great... She named me. Well, if there was any chance I might have been released, it was gone now.

"That is the spirit Cindy!" Looker cheered. "Now to set about making sure Corin does not escape from you yes? I believe I still have a leash from when I once was training a growlithe..."

Looker busied himself looking for the leash while Cindy beamed down at me happily. I slumped my shoulders miserably and glared sourly at the door, wishing with all my might that it would open so I could make a break for it.

"Leash..." I grumbled, "What the heck's a leash anyway?"

The croagunk chuckled.

That wasn't a good sign.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Alley Oop

A leash it turns out is the most simple yet horrible thing ever made by humankind. Second only to a pokeball of course.

Why? Because a pokeball is manipulative. It makes you feel so safe and secure, you eventually are brainwashed to look forward to returning to it. Even though you're actually returning to a state of isolation and sensory deprivation, completely cutting yourself off from the rest of the world. Not for me thanks.

A leash on the other hand is different. It doesn't lie to you like a pokeball does. At least you know someone is in control of you. Don't believe me? Do a little experiment when you get the chance. Loop a lariat around your neck, give the end of it to a pokemon ranger on a rapidash and then tell that ranger to take you somewhere, anywhere. I guarantee you'll hate leashes as much as I do.

Especially at that moment.

I'm proud to say that it took a globe-trotting elite international policeman, a rookie trainer and a croagunk in a funny hat, to hold me down long enough to strap a black, cracked leather collar around my throat and then clip a leash to it. I was busily trying to chew my way through it while Cindy was expressing her thanks to Looker. Croagunk simply snickered at my attempts to escape. I responded in kind by growling muffled curses back at him through the mouthful of leash. The leash itself must have been made out tauros leather. It tasted like the skin of something like a tauros anyway.

Stupid tauros.

Cindy and Looker said their goodbyes to one another, and the next moment I found myself being dragged down the street. I could have nipped at Cindy's legs until she let go of the blasted leash, allowing me to make a run for it. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. After all, she did kind of stick her neck out for me. She could have left me back at the station where I would get a one way ticket to a cage. Instead, she defended me. Refused to abandon me even though I didn't want anything to do with her. So instead of biting at her which is what any sane wild pokemon would do, I settled for digging in my paws and thrashing madly at the end of the leash.

I may be a jerk sometimes but I do have some morals.

I felt myself be pulled firmly around a corner and into an alleyway I have ran down many nights before. Dusk was in it's final stages of turning to night and lights above the doors dotting the alleyway were beginning to flicker on. Cindy drew me past a stained green dumpster that I had raided just the night before. Through my struggles I longed for last night when I didn't have to worry about leashes or police officers. Clearing the alleyway she finally dragged me across the street to a tiny neighborhood with rows of small houses.

"There's my house Corin," Cindy said breathlessly and pointing at the house at the end of the row to her right. It was small, but immaculately cared for. There was a small lawn in front but half of it was taken over by a well tended garden that grew all manner of flowers, berries and vegetables. Just to the left of the house, I could just barely make out a structure that went around to the back. It looked like a stable of some sort, but much larger. My nose could detect the savory scents of food cooking which despite trying to remain insolent, made my mouth water. I caught other scents coming from the back of the house that were not quite so pleasant. They were faint, but I could detect the smells of dried grass, droppings, (from something massive) carrion, and brimstone. A little shudder went down my spine and I felt the fur on my tail stand up.

"I'll need to hide you for a bit so I can get mom used to you," Cindy explained as she tugged me towards her house. We went the right side of her house, (thankfully) were she began to tie her end of the leash to a post usually reserved for bicycles. "I'll make sure the coast is clear so I can sneak you into my room. Mom isn't too happy when she saw you digging up her Gracidea flowers the other day so I hope she's in a better mood this time. Wait here and I'll be back for you in a minute ok?"

In my defense. I wasn't digging up the Gracideas to be malicious. The flowers grow out of a rather tasty bulb that humans plant into the ground. The flowers aren't half bad either. I sighed, "Why do you humans leave your food outside then if you don't want pokemon like me to come along and help ourselves then?"

I have to stop the habit of talking to humans when I know they can't understand me.

Cindy finished tying her knot and glancing back at me one more time, dashed into the house while I sat miserably gnawing at the lead that was holding me. _"I don't think my day could possibly get any worse..."_ I thought, bitterly.

Of course things got worse after that. There must be some kind of pokemon out there that is the entity of chaos or something, that likes to show the utterer of those words just how wrong they were.

The pokemon sauntering down the alley toward me didn't even bother to hide themselves. They knew I wasn't going anywhere and they took their time. Probably enjoying my mounting tension at their approach. Jerks.

I recognized them both. One of them was the very same kricketot I had beaten up earlier. He was still bruised from our last scuffle and his right eye was nearly closed from the nice shiner I had generously given him. Even tied to the post I didn't consider him much of a threat. The purugly on the other hand, made me nervous.

She was plump, even for her species. As she walked, wicked looking claws unsheathed themselves. Maybe she was doing it on purpose, maybe not. All I knew was that I didn't want to end up on the receiving end of those claws. I had made her plenty mad on dozens of occasions. During my nightly prowls, I would often muscle pet pokemon out of their food bowls. Since purugly was too big to mess with without serious risk of nursing scratches, I settled for gobbling up her food, and skirting just out of her reach laughing at her all the way.

"Someone out there must be laughing at me right now," I muttered as they closed in on me. I spat out the leash, sat back on my haunches and tried to feign indifference while trying to look tough yet remain wary at the same time. In the wild, the best fight is one you don't have to fight at all. If I looked like less of a push over, maybe they would think twice before attacking me.

Yeah, and I'm actually a ditto pretending to be an eevee.

"See, just like where I said he'd be," the kricketot chirruped.

"Yes, very nice," The purugly agreed. She strode forward till she was a few feet away from where I was sitting. She towered over me and it was all I could do to keep myself from flinching away from her. "I see the humans finally caught up to you. Not so fast now are you?" She purred, a hungry smile spreading across her flat face.

I stood up, my tail bushy and my furry collar flared. Another tactic. I was trying to make myself look bigger even though I knew it wouldn't work on the purugly. She was looking at me as though I had been served on a platter with an apple in my mouth. I did notice the kricketot falter in his steps though. My last chance, even though I hated the idea, would be to stall for time and hope that Cindy would come back before they tore me to pieces.

"My dear," I said in the most charming way I could manage, "I did you a favor. If you think about it, chasing me was about the best exercise you ever had. Maybe the _only_ exercise you ever had."

I didn't think Purugly could get any bigger but when she swelled with fury, it made me cringe. It looked like she was going to smack my lights out right there until Kricketot muscled his way past her and shoved his face in mine.

"I'm gonna make you pay for this," he snarled at me jabbing a finger at his swollen eye. "You should have left when I told you to."

"I don't like threats," I said baring my teeth. "Especially from wimps like you."

"You better watch your mouth eevee," the kricketot growled.

"Or you'll what? Get Purugly to beat me up for you? That is your plan isn't it?" I glanced at Purugly with a wry grin. "How do you like being used madam?"

"You told me you fell down some steps," Purugly droned, turning her pale yellow eyes to lock onto Kricketot's.

"Fell down some steps?" I said choking back a laugh. "No, he's met me before haven't you Krickie?"

Kricketot shuffled back a couple steps. His crooked antennae folded back against his head. "I...I-"

"No madam. You see, I was just minding my own business earlier today when this little slimeball tried to push me off my area. Of course I strongly disagreed. Theres a nice rock by the lake that is great for catching some sun," My grin got wider as I turned to face the kricketot. "I just can't believe he'd stoop so low as to use you to get to me. Not very smart in my opinion."

"No," Purugly rumbled turning away from me and menacing the kricketot. He backed away timidly. "Not very smart at all."

"Y-you can't p-possibly bel-"

"Do you think I'm some kind of pawn in your turf war?" Purugly hissed, her claws unsheathing themselves. "I am not amused. I don't like being lied to insect. Give me one good reason not to rip you apart right now!"

Good. I had managed to turn Purugly's attention away from me. If I could keep this up a little longer, I may get out of this thing in one piece. Kricketot shambled away from her, shocked and stammering halfhearted answers. Purugly glided a couple steps toward Kricketot and crouched ready to pounce. Kricketot managed to look past Purugly and at me. His look of desperation hardened into blazing fury.

"You! This is all your fault," he screamed as Purugly leapt at him. To my surprise, he was able to duck under her and charged at me. I recovered quickly and snatched up a bit of my leash. Just before Kricketot swung at me, I side stepped him and yanked hard on my leash. It went taut with a snap of leather. Kricketot missed me completely and caught a face-full of leash instead. He staggered backward to my left off balance. I used this opening to whirl on him and with the hardest right hook I threw, decked him in his good left eye. He went sailing backward, landed flat on his back and lay still. I didn't have any time to celebrate my victory though.

I had taken my eyes off the purugly a fraction of a second too long.

I felt something big slam into my ribs on my exposed right flank. It felt like I had been hit by a freight train and I flew through the air until the leash stopped me painfully short. I landed on my stomach and spent the next couple of seconds seeing jirachis and trying to remember how to breathe. I tried to get up but something heavy slammed into my back and pinned me to the ground.

"Don't move eevee," the purugly hissed into my ear. "Or I'll gut you like a magikarp."

"Why? Isn't that what your planning on doing to me anyway," I said, trying to keep my voice from trembling. I didn't do a very good job. I blame the chilly evening.

"Oh no. Not right away of course. I want to play with you first." I could practically feel the purugly's lips peeling back from her needle sharp teeth. I swallowed hard. "I think I'll start by putting out your eyes," she purred as her claws dug into my back, drawing a startled and pained gasp from me. "Then I think I'll take your tail to play with later. After that I'll finish by breaking a couple of your legs so that you'll never run again. How's that eevee?"

"It sounds to me like you have a very disturbing imagination," I grunted.

"I've had time to imagine this moment eevee," she said sweetly. "I have been dreaming of the moment when I had you under my claws. Now I'm going to teach you why you should never steal from me." I braced myself. My luck had been running great at that point but it had finally run out.

"Wait," rasped the chirruping voice of Kricketot. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that he had waddled up to where Purugly had held me pinned. I managed to angle my head upward to get a better look. The left eye was beginning to swell as badly as the right, much to my satisfaction despite the trouble I was in.

"I wanna pummel him!"

I don't know how she managed it, but the purugly hissed, snarled and growled at the same time making me quake under her and forcing Kricketot to retreat a couple of steps back.

"You'll get whats left of him only when I'm done toying with him!"

I struggled under Purugly's weight. She didn't budge an inch. Stupid fat cat. I felt a paw momentarily on the back of my head before it was shoved into the ground.

"Hold still eevee," She whispered into my ear. "It'll only hurt a lot."

A sharp staccato snarl split the air. I felt Purugly's weight on me suddenly lift and I scrambled to my feet. Purugly was in retreat her back arched and her tail flared. Kricketot who was squealing in fear was scuttling not close behind. I shook the dust out of my fur in disbelief that I was still alive.

"Yeah, thats right," I panted. "You better run."

Another low snarl rumbled behind me. My spine stiffened and my tail shot straight upward. I turned to look behind me even though the very act filled me with dread. At first all I could see was darkness so black that even my eyes couldn't see what was there. Then my freaking heart leapt into my throat when two large, glaring eyes appeared through the blackness and fixed themselves on me. Another snarl shook the ground. I leapt backward with a yelp and jerked to a stop as I reached the end of my tether. I began thrashing on the end of my leash in a blind panic, desperate to get away from those vicious looking eyes.

"Corin! Corin, what's the matter?" Cindy had reappeared and scooped me up into her arms. Without realizing what I was doing, I buried my face into the crook of her arm and shook like a frightened kit.

"What took you so long?" I growled weakly. I felt her hand slip up to the black collar on my neck and unclip the leash.

"Don't worry about Mandy Corin," Cindy said soothingly, her fingers brushing behind my ears. The gesture somehow reminded me of my mother and I felt myself start to calm down. "She's daddy's pokemon. She won't attack you unless daddy says so." Cindy explained.

_"Oh well that makes me feel loads better,"_ I thought sarcastically. I felt Mandy start to move towards the house.

"Mom moved into the basement to get something for dinner," Cindy said as she clutched me tighter. "We have to move quick!" I had stopped shaking and felt better enough to chance one last glance over Cindy's shoulder into the darkness behind her.

The eyes were gone.

Author's note:

Sorry if I was a little late posting, anyone who is following this at the moment. I try to post a new chapter each week, but it's been pretty hectic between work and school. Still, I hope you will be patient with me and hope you enjoy what is happening so far. I know I am. As usual, I implore anyone to let me know if I am committing any Fanfic taboos or if my grammatical errors are still a travesty. I do check frequently and I am more than happy to fix my errors. Thank you all and I will try to post a new chapter next week!

Sincerely,

forkicksan'giggles


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Meet the Family

I don't like being carried.

Some pokemon like it and I can see the appeal. Why walk or run everywhere when you can have someone carry you? It saves energy for doing other things. Like sleeping for example. Of course, to enjoy being carried it must mean that you have to have a measure of trust for the carrier. You have to trust that the one carrying you will take you somewhere safe or comfortable and not throw you off a cliff.

I was pretty mad at Cindy by the time we got into her house. I blamed her for the near death experience outside. If she had picked a better hiding place, I doubt I would have gotten the bruises I now was beginning to feel. I felt like I had really dodged the scythe that time, and was questioning Cindy's capability of handing the so-called "responsibility" of me. I wasn't even in captivity for a full day yet and I had already nearly gotten myself scratched to bloody ribbons under her keep. It was enough to diminish the measure of trust I may have developed for her.

Which was why I was squirming in her arms as she carried me through the house.

"Corin hold still," She whispered. "Do you want us to get caught?"

I only growled in response. Her wrist which was close to my muzzle at that moment was starting to look like a tempting target. The living room went by in a blur, but I caught the forms of some comfortable looking, mint green sofas that were stretched across a large, azure blue rug. A television set hummed across from the sofas. I was certain that it was because of this device that made humans so dull witted. When I peek in through the windows, I always seem to see humans glued to the device as if hypnotized. As we rounded a corner into the stairway, I could hear a human's voice emanating from it.

"-actic, the group most notable for being responsible for the recent acts of terrorism in Sinnoh. Though the police have the leaders of the organization in custody, and have assured that the group has been officially disbanded, there is evidence that not all members have been accounted for and the police are still not completely sure just how many members are still at large."

I felt myself get jounced a bit as Cindy started to jog up the stairs. I redoubled my efforts to wriggle out of her arms. Cindy tried to grab my legs so that I would stop kicking at her. That was the moment when I lost my temper and tried to bite her. Gratitude for getting me out of custody vanished faster than a freaking ghastly. Gratitude can go suck a stick for all I cared. She almost didn't catch my head in time, but I felt her grab the scruff of my neck and pull my head back away from her tender skin. Furious, I bared my teeth and snarled angry curses that I don't care to repeat here, with Cindy trying to quiet me with nervous "Shhh's." We reached the top of the stairs just as a voice floated up from the living room below.

"Cindy?" The voice was melodious like Cindy's but definitely older. It had to be the girl's mother.

"It's me mom. Just putting my pokemon in my room."

"What was that noise?"

"What noise?"

"It sounded like a growl."

"It's nothing mom. I just sneezed."

"Nice recovery," I thought grimly, still writhing in her grip.

"You went out without a jacket again didn't you young lady?" Her mother chided, "You're going to catch a cold if you're not careful."

"I don't have a cold mom," Cindy said exasperated. She strode into the hallway and tore open a cabinet closet at the end of the hall as heavy footsteps shuffled up the stairs. "It wasn't even cold outside." I was about to let loose with another angry growl, but I felt Cindy shift her grip on me. Before I could leap from her arms, my vision suddenly went black, as I was enveloped in shroud of fuzz that smelled suspiciously like fabric and flowers. Trying to bite and growl only meant I wound up with a mouthful of cloth. When I tried struggling, the blanket I was surely covered in tightened, restricting my movements. My anger reached a frothing point. I didn't care if Cindy outweighed and outsized me.

I was going to kill this girl.

In the stifling blackness, I heard the heavier footsteps get closer till they stopped within Cindy's proximity.

"Just like your father," The mature voice said. "So eager to get outside you forget to prepare properly and you wind up getting sick. Next time you go outside missy, you take a jacket with you." I heard Cindy sigh.

"Yes mom."

"Why do you have a blanket with you?" Cindy's mom asked.

"I'm going to make my bed after dinner." Cindy replied.

I had to give her credit. Cindy was keeping amazingly cool under pressure. I felt Cindy turn and we began to stride back down the hall. The heavy footsteps shuffled behind us. "Mom...I want to start my journey." Cindy said quietly.

The heavier footsteps stopped.

"But dear, you're still too young to make such a journey by yourself."

Cindy turned in a gesture that I was certain was facing her mother.

"I'm only too young by like, a year mom! Daddy's taught me everything he knows about camping and battling, and my teacher says my grades are good enough to take time off school early!"

"Cindy," Her mother said, worry lining her voice. "Which pokemon would be traveling with you if you decided to go?"

"I have Capistrano-" Cindy started to say.

"Capistrano is a nice pokemon," Her mother said gently interrupting her, "but don't take this the wrong way dear. He is not really cut out for battling. He is too sweet tempered for such things." Her mother's voice got hopeful. "Now, he might be great for pokemon contests! His feathers are silky soft, I'm sure the judges would love him!"

"But what about Sye?" Cindy said. "He's very strong and would be a great pokemon to travel with!"

"We still don't know much about Sye Cindy. What if his trainer comes back looking for him while you're gone?"

There was a moment of silence.

"We don't know for sure he has a trainer..." Cindy's voice faltered.

"Sweetheart. Sye has been taught Psychic early. That is a very advanced move for an abra."

"But what if he learned it on his own? Thats possible isn't it? Sye is pretty smart."

"I'm sure he did not learn Signal Beam on his own though dear." Cindy's mom said softly.

_"Hmm... Signal Beam. Good to know." _ I thought to myself and mentally logged that tidbit of information away for the next time I had a rematch with Sye. More silence. I felt Cindy shudder against the blanket I was wrapped in. Cindy's mother sighed heavily.

"We'll talk more about this with your father at dinner," she said solemnly. "Now come downstairs and help set the table. Your father will be home any minute."

"Yes, mom."

More movement. Cindy turned and took a few more steps forward. I felt my bundle get lowered to a soft surface beneath. I guessed it was her bed. I began to thrash in earnest and the blanket binding me loosened. "Head busting time..." I thought with a growl in my throat. I was so busy untangling myself from the flowery blanket that I hadn't heard Cindy's retreating footsteps, the popping sounds of open pokeballs, or the sound of her shutting her bedroom door. So it came as an extremely irritating shock to me when I finally freed myself, leapt teeth bared onto the violet woven rug in the middle of the room only to find myself trapped in her bedroom.

I scanned the room, turning in place as I tried to find any escape routes. Cindy's room had a large window where a tree's branches swayed in the wind outside. The window was closed with it's transparent blue curtains drawn. Drat. Wasn't getting out that way. The pink laced white door with a violet doorknob, was the only entrance in or out and it looked sturdy enough to withstand a barrage from an exhausted and battered eevee.

Curse humans and their opposable thumbs.

Cindy's modest, unmade bed stretched out under the window and took up most of the room. At the head of her bed was a small solid table complete with a black reading lamp. On the far left end of the room was an enormous bookshelf stuffed with books of all shapes and sizes. I didn't care about books. Reading and writing was a human practice that only humans really obsessed about. I sat down crossly and prepared to occupy my thoughts of wallowing in self pity.

"Oh! Hello!"

I whirled on the voice that had come from my right, hackles raised. The starly that was perched on the large cluttered desk at the foot of Cindy's bed flitted nervously, startled at my reaction. I recognized him. What was the name Cindy had called him? Candy corn? Cape Cod? Capistrano. That was it.

"Now what do you want?" I barked. My patience was in tatters and I was more than eager to take the nightmare that had been my day out on someone. Capistrano fluttered his wings anxiously.

"N-nothing! I just w-wanted to w-welcome you to your new home," Capistrano said clearly upset.

"New home huh?" I said with a growl, "And I guess a vacation to Jhoto and a new bike can also be mine if the price is right." I took a step toward the desk. "Lets make something very clear birdbrain. This is not my new home, and as soon as I get the chance, I'm outta here. I wont even look back."

It looked as though Capistrano was about to cry and I felt a twinge of guilt. Capistrano didn't seem like a bad guy. A huge gullible sucker yeah, but generally, a pleasant sort of pokemon.

Too bad I'm far from pleasant.

"It looks as though detention hasn't improved your manners or made you any more humble," echoed a voice in my brain.

"Well, look who decided to wake up from his beauty sleep?" I said sarcastically as I looked around the room for Sye. I found him perched on top of the bookshelf and I snarled viciously, "Get out of my head brainiac."

_"It's Sye."_ The psychic pokemon telepathically replied. _"And you're in no condition to threaten anyone at the moment. Especially me. Unless of course, you want me to arrange it so that you temporarily forget how your legs work."_

I felt my legs wobble, and I had to fight to stay upright. I scowled at Sye in defiance and mentally slammed a door in his face. To my surprise, it worked. Sye recoiled as if he'd been slapped. He recovered quickly and just stared at me, blue eyes glowing, a mixture of suspicion and anger on his face.

"Whats the matter brainiac? Can't speak or are you too lazy to move your lips like the rest of us?" I said mockingly.

Sye's eyes flashed and I didn't have to specialize in sensing auras to tell his was reaching a breaking point. I let it go at that. Sye did have a point. I was in no condition to fight at all. Capistrano, sensing the tension that settled thick in the room flapped down to the floor to land in front of me.

"So...are you comfortable right now? I could get you a pillow or something. You look like you had a really long day." Capistrano said hopefully. I wanted to snap at him and tell him to mind his own combee's wax, but I reigned in my temper.

"No thanks. I'm fine. I'll sleep when I'm gone from here."

"Why do you want to leave so badly?" Capistrano asked genuinely puzzled, "Do you not like Cindy or something?"

"It's not that," I said. "I just...don't like people very much."

"Did someone hurt you?"

The room fell silent. I felt both pokemon watching me intently. It was unsettling enough to make me answer. At least partially.

"Someone...took my mom from me when I was still a kit."

"Oh," Capistrano said somberly. "How did it-"

"I don't want to talk about it." I interjected.

"Oh. Okay." Capistrano said, more as if he was placating me rather than letting it go. I really didn't want to talk about my loss. It was personal to me in more ways than one. The year I lost my mother had been the hardest one of my life. I had barely survived the winter season as well as avoided the things that would have loved to snack on a kit and pick their teeth with the bones later. I had come out of it in mostly one piece though. As hard as it was it changed me. Shaped me into what I was now.

You don't go talking about things like that with pokemon you just met.

Capistrano looked like he was going to ask another question when the bedsheets covering Cindy's bed rippled. I jumped and whirled to face the bed with a furious and startled snarl. Capistrano panicked at my sudden movement and that of the bed and he zoomed upward taking cover back on the desktop.

"Oh my," a new voice silky and feminine, drifted from under the bed. "Aren't we positively ferocious?"

I faced the bed, my body stiff and was greeted with a pair of luminous eyes that appeared from underneath.

"Only if you want to dance," I said with a warning growl. "You wont like it if you do though. I've had a really bad day."

A midnight and royal blue feline shape glided out from under the bed and rose till she was looming over me. _"Great... Another cat... I hate cats..."_ I thought with a scowl as I looked up to meet her eyes. She seemed older. She also happened to be a luxio. I had only seen her evolutionary form maybe once or twice, and I had been wise enough to steer clear of them when I did. Shinx were easier opponents, but they tended to band together in small packs so as a whole, I never messed with the electric kitties.

Again, super genius over here.

She circled me purring loudly as I warily watched her size me up. My posture never changed but inwardly my heart was hammering in my chest. There was no fight left in me at all to manage a proper defense and no place to run. If she called my bluff and decided to rush me, there simply was nothing I could do about it. She finally plopped down in front of me with a smirk that despite my apprehension, I couldn't help but think the look seemed very appropriate and attractive on her.

"Oh do stop with the alpha male bravado already," the luxio said with a huff. "If I wanted to attack you, I would have done it while your back was turned. You wouldn't have been my actual target anyway," her head inclined to Capistrano who fidgeted nervously on the desk.

She stretched languidly flexing her well kept claws and yawned widely displaying dazzling white, needle sharp teeth. She didn't need to tell me I was at her mercy. The stretch told me all I needed to know. And yet, regardless of the danger I was surely in I found her to be simply alluring. She was power, grace and beauty all rolled together into sinuous female exquisiteness. I noted that she had some very soft, supple curves and busied myself in sitting back on my haunches before she could realize I had been staring. I heard Sye let out a snort and ignored him.

I don't think I fooled her. It wasn't like I was trying too hard in any case.

"H-hi Felicity," Capistrano twittered, his wings half spread. "We w-were just getting Corin settled in."

Felicity shot him a hungry glance. He was about to say something else but it died with a squeak. Up on the bookshelf Sye's eyes flashed. Felicity's head arched around to look at him.

"I'm not going to eat him my sweet," She said sullenly. "I'm simply in a playful mood thats all," her shimmering eyes flicked over to me. "It might be because we have a newcomer here."

I felt my heart beat again this time from excitement. I could use this to my advantage. If I could get Felicity to let me outside, I could make good on my escape. I may even have a chance to indulge myself in a little entertainment with Felicity if I played my cards right. I puffed out my furry collar and tail in a pitiful attempt to look a little more impressive. I was sure my mane looked like a rattata's nest at the time.

"I like to play," I said with an impish grin. "And... I am new. Maybe you can show me around?"

"Why not?" She responded. The smirk was back on her face. My hopes soared to the point that I had to keep myself from trembling visually. "It isn't like you are able to escape from here or anything."

"Hate to disappoint my lady, but I disagree," I said boldly a bit of a swagger in my step. "I could have left any time I wanted. I was just humoring Cindy."

I heard snickers from both Sye and Capistrano. That can't be a good sign. My hopes started to waver.

"Oh you poor sweet thing," Felicity chortled. "You do not understand. You are bound to your pokeball. Even if you left right now, all it would take to bring you back here would be Cindy opening your ball and calling you back. And, you will return," Her voice lost it's merriment. "You have no choice."

My hopes that were momentarily scraping the sky went screeching back to the ground and exploded in big balls of flame.

"But, I don't stay in my pokeball," I said confused and grasping at straws.

"Ah yes, but did you break the ball when you escaped it?"

"I...I...," I faltered. "I don't think I did."

"Then it doesn't matter how far you go," Felicity sang. "You can't escape. Why the rush though handsome?" She slid closer to me. "Don't you think I'm captivating?"

"You're very pretty," I responded glumly. "I'm jus-"

"I won over fifty contest ribbons in all categories!" Felicity interrupted breathlessly. It looked as though she had been bubbling to talk about her glory days. I was too busy nursing my charred and mangled hopes to really care, but she chattered on.

"I danced circles around my rivals! I dazzled the judges with the might and elegance of my moves!" Her eyes glittered as she lowered her head to mine. "You my dear, if trained properly and polished up a bit, have the potential to sweep the judges off their feet," she whispered. "Your collar is gorgeous. It is such a wonderful shade of yellow."

I was a bit proud of my collar. Unlike other eevee's who's collars and tips of their tails were the color of fresh cream, mine was goldenrod yellow. My unique shade was a gift from my father whom I admired above all others.

"Your color must have come from good breeding stock," Felicity nodded knowledgeably. "Notice my gleaming fur? It was passed to me by my grandfather. He was a prize winning raichu. Who was your father? Pikachu? Raichu?"

"Sandslash," I answered with a quiet smile as better days came flooding back to my memory. I almost didn't notice her gasp.

"Oh..oh I am so sorry," Felicity cooed, concern crossing her face. "I had no idea you had been born from such common tripe. Your bloodline may give you some trouble, but with my guidance, you are certainly capable of rising above such challenges."

I coughed. "Excuse me?"

"I hope I haven't embarrassed you by making you reveal who your father was."

"You don't know my father," I said quietly a low growl touching my voice. I doubt Felicity heard it but I saw Capistrano flitter his wings uncomfortably and felt Sye's presence withdraw from the bookshelf. He finished his teleportation on the desk next to the starly, probably to better watch my facial expressions since I was preventing him from mentally gauging my emotions. The look on my face must not have been pretty because his face twisted into an expression of mild alarm.

He was right to be concerned. Felicity was no longer attractive to me. In fact, Felicity was treading in rather turbulent waters.

"I don't need to know your father to know how worthless he must have been," Felicity said matter-of-factly and rolling one shoulder in a shrug. "All sandshrew and sandslash are."

If I was better rested, I would have attacked her right then. Instead I peered intently at her face.

"Only fifty ribbons you say? Did you lose your spark after all those wrinkles formed under your eyes?"

It may not have been a physical punch, but Felicity reacted the same way as if I did hit her.

"Wh-what did you say to me?" She whispered, color draining from her face in fury.

"Contests are a joke," I growled. "Primping and strutting around trying to impress humans. It's stupid," My growl became a snarl and I took a step toward her fur bristling in rage. "I'd rather eat toxic spikes than take part in one. So why don't you just climb back into your rocking chair grandma and squawk about your pointless victories to someone who gives a flying bidoof?"

The air in Cindy's bedroom became charged with static both physically and literally as we locked eyes.

"Be careful where you tread in _my_ house eevee," Felicity whispered furiously. "Accidents may happen."

"Your house huh?" I spat contemptuously. "I'm going to change that right now."

Not taking my eyes off Felicity, I stalked over to the bed. I turned my right flank to the bed and lifted my left hind leg.

"Corin! Don't!" Capistrano shrieked.

I didn't listen to him.

"See this bed right here?" I growled in challenge as I began to relieve myself. "Well, I'm claiming it! It's _mine_ now! And, this is just the beginning!"

The doorknob suddenly twisted and the bedroom door creaked open.

I don't believe in karma. I do however, believe in time. Some people and pokemon have an impeccable sense of timing. It's how they always seem to be in the right place to have the best things happen to them or come just at the nick of time to save the day. Some of them don't even realized that they're blessed by Dialga, lucky punks. I as well as the rest of the world, do not have such luxury. Which was why I shouldn't have been surprised that just at that moment I was marking the bed, Cindy and her mother chose that moment to waltz into the room. I repeat. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I can be extremely dull witted sometimes.

Time also has a way of freezing at the most awkward moments too. Time then went painfully slow as Cindy's mother surged forward, an angry scream on her lips.

Dialga must not like me very much.

The kricketot's and kricktune's songs echoed through the night sky as I hunkered down in an oversized nest in the now empty stable in the backyard a couple of hours later. I had once again, been tethered to a post. At least I was still breathing. Cindy's mother looked like she wanted to send me rocketing to the moon. Instead, Cindy had talked her into banishing me to the backyard.

I had spent the first few minutes of my expulsion nervously checking the perimeters of my lodgings for the pair of eyes that had sent me scurrying for cover earlier. I had eventually come to the conclusion that whoever "Mandy" was, she was gone now. My vigilance then shifted to scanning for Purugly and Kricketot in case they came looking for a little payback. I eventually hoped that Mandy's scent was strong enough to cover my own and ward away any other intruders that would be interested in thrashing me.

I was on the verge of passing out from sheer exhaustion, when Cindy came bursting outside bubbling with exhilaration. I jumped up with a squeaky growl. As she bounded up to me I noticed she had a paper plate in her hands that smelled savory and edible. My stomach rumbled voraciously even though I was trying to look tough (blast you stomach).

"They said yes!" Cindy squealed jumping up and down in front of me. "They said I could go on my journey by the end of this week! Eeeeeeeeeeeee!"

The incoherent end of her announcement made me roll my eyes and flatten my ears in an effort to block out the pain brought on by her shrill hooting. She crouched down to me her eyes shining in the moonlight and slipped the plate of food in front of me.

Scrambled doduo eggs. Bless her.

I buried my face in the steamy, delectable, deliciousness while she babbled on.

"Dad approved of it and I was able to talk mom into letting me go since it would get you out of her house," Cindy said breathlessly though there was a touch of apology to her tone. I wolfed down the last bite of egg, licked my chops and belched shamelessly. My spirits were dampened even though warm food comfortably rested in my belly. Going on a journey with Cindy meant leaving my territory I had worked so hard to claim. Traveling down dark, winding, roads.

Change.

I felt overwhelmingly small and tired. How could I have fallen so hard? I thought I was careful and clever, but I still wound up tied to a post in front of a giggling nine year old girl. Cindy must have sensed my despair, because she quieted.

"I'm scared too," she said softly. "I don't know what'll happen or how far we'll go," she brightened. "But, if I don't go, I'll never know what I may have missed. I gotta go because I don't want to regret not knowing."

"Yeah but I'm regretting that you're dragging me into this," I snapped. Cindy removed the plate from in front of me and tentatively reached out to stroke my head. I flashed my teeth and growled a warning. She shook her head and sighed before rising and dusting the dirt from her knees.

"Goodnight Corin," She said with a quiet smile. "See you in the morning."

I slumped back down in the nest with an annoyed snort as Cindy scurried back into the house. New worries whirled around in my head and my mind hounded every single one until my eyelids closed unbidden and I dropped into a restless, fitful sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Mandy

I was running. From what, I didn't know. I was too focused to look behind me. Or, maybe it was because I was terrified. Whatever the case was, I ran until I felt my heart was about to burst. It didn't make a difference. The thing that was chasing me steadily gained ground no matter how far I lengthened my stride. Just when I could sense when it was on top of me, I whirled on it, determined to make a final stand before I was overtaken.

Everyone has one of those days. The kind of day where it was better if you hadn't gotten out of bed at all. Some people and pokemon alike are even more unlucky. They are the ones unfortunate enough to have their bad day spread out into the span of a week. I knew the forecast for the rest of my week the moment I jerked awake from the nightmare I had been having and the first thing I was greeted with was the narrow, malicious eyes that had menaced me in the alley the night before.

I reacted the way any normal pokemon would do. I leapt backward with a startled yell forgetting about the leash around my neck completely until it snapped my head painfully forward and the sudden stop knocked my feet out from under me. I fell hard and scraped my chin at the bottom of the nest.

"Don't..._do_ that!" I moaned as I pushed myself back up. I put a paw to my throbbing chin and it came away partially wet. Maybe adrenaline was coursing through me, or maybe I was just tired of being taken by surprise, but I was able to look past the fierce eyes with a grumpy scowl and up at the pokemon that towered over me.

The pokemon had an angular, reptilian face that was mostly mouth filled with jagged, sharp teeth. Her head was joined to a long slender neck that tapered down to a rounded, bulky body and joined short, powerful legs and a long muscular tail. Vibrant red wings adorned her back that looked razor sharp to both physical beings as well as the air. My father had only told me of salemence once. They didn't have a reputation for being sweethearts and that if I did spot one, to make myself the very definition of scarce before salemence did it for me. It's sad really. My father had been dead for years and yet somehow I still manage to disobey him.

"Mandy I presume?" I said warily. I reigned in my temper. There was no point in getting hostile the first thing in the morning. Especially when I was ridiculously tiny compared to her and had absolutely no running space. Mandy responded with a snort that seemed to confirm my inquiry without even speaking. Silent seconds dragged by painfully slow as we faced each other. One with an annoyed yet tolerant gaze, and one trying not to look like a breakfast bite.

Three guesses about which one I was.

"You're in my nest," Mandy spoke with a quiet growl. She could have roared and it would have been enough to turn my legs to water but somehow when she spoke quietly, it was so much more eerie. I swallowed a lump that suddenly formed in my throat, (probably my heart) and hopped out without a second's delay. I sat away from her as far as the leash could let me as Mandy slid into her nest with a serpentine grace, never once taking her eyes off me. More seconds ambled past before she spoke again with a quiet rumble that sent shivers down my spine.

"Why are you here?"

It took me a couple moments to clear my throat so that I could force down the terrified squeak that threatened to bubble up out of me.

"I was in a battle with Cindy. I lost. Now I'm here."

"Thats not what I meant." Mandy yawned as though bored. "Why are you here?"

I blinked. "What do you mean why am I here?"

Mandy sighed exasperated. "Why Jubilife?" She said rather condescendingly. "You are the only eevee to even fathom coming within the city limits of this place of all places you could possibly go. So I ask again for the last time. Why. Are. You. Here?"

"Why should I tell you?" I said insolently.

I knew I was taking a risk, but I was a male for Mew's sake and an alpha male to boot. There aren't many pokemon who can demand answers from me without having to do a bit of convincing first. Besides, all this initial intimidation from Mandy coupled with a rude awakening and no breakfast was making me very cranky.

Mandy lowered her head to mine. The leash creaked under the sudden strain. Her eyes narrowed and a toothy grin spread across her face. I gulped.

"I could always revert to my more ...primal nature. I haven't had my breakfast yet."

She convinced me.

"Oh..." I squeaked. I made a mental note to be nicer to Capistrano the next time I saw him. It kinda sucks when you are the one getting snapped at by something that can beat the utter stuffing out of you.

I thought about the question for a moment. I did come from a very long way off. I was born in a small forested area where streams and rivers wound their way to the ocean beyond. My birthplace was also nestled at the base of Mt. Coronet. I had spent my first months learning to climb and dig the rocky cliff sides with my father. It made me fairly tough and strong early on. I'm sure if it wasn't for my father's guidance before my world was yanked from under me, I wouldn't have had the strength to survive the rough years that came later. To say the journey to Jubilife was an easy one would have been a flat out lie. I had to trek over Mt. Coronet to find my paradise. The journey had tested the very limits of my strength and beyond. There were others, people and pokemon alike that tried to scale the jagged, icy, peak I had struggled past along the way.

They are still up there, glassy eyes staring out at nothing. Timelessly preserved for anyone brave, foolish, or unfortunate enough to meet them.

Something was nagging me though. I still didn't know exactly why I made such a dangerous journey. What had driven me onward so persistently? I could have desperately wanted to bury my past and my pain so deeply that I was willing to risk becoming an eevee-sicle. Or, could it have been something else?

Screw it. If I thought about it too much it would make my head hurt.

"The pickings are easy here," I said offhandedly. "There's plenty of food, no rivals and there's a nice rock out by the little lake on the outskirts that stays warm in the sun. I admit though, not the best place to find mates. Only girls out that way are shinx and they like to stay in groups, abra play hard to get and," I wrinkled my nose. "bidoof."

"You do not have a preference for bidoof?" Mandy asked, amusement in her tone.

"Who does?" I replied dryly. There was a pause before Mandy spoke again.

"Fair point."

I began to relax slightly. As long as Mandy kept her mouth moving, it would be otherwise preoccupied with doing things like talking instead of eating tiny pokemon that were bound to a post in her backyard. Self preservation aside however, I wanted to stop talking about myself. Not because I have a mysterious angst ridden past or anything, (because I don't), I just don't like to talk about myself. I believe the more things someone knows about you, the more they can use against you in the future.

Paranoia now boarding cynic station departing for recluse central.

"How about you?" I asked, trying to shift the subject off me, "My father had told me salamence were mostly blue. Why is it that you're green?" It was an honest question that I genuinely wanted the answer to. Mandy's scales glittered a brilliant emerald green that looked well groomed and glossy. It seemed as though Mandy took care of the places that she could reach and who ever polished the rest of her scales did so with the same care and possibly better. Mandy's eyes narrowed and I fought the quivering sensation in my stomach.

"Why should I tell you?" Mandy asked sweetly, turning my own citation back on me. Not to be outdone, rose to my full height of one foot and a scratch more, and flared my collar and tail with a roguish grin on my face.

"I could always revert to my more...primal nature. I haven't had female company for some time now and you're starting to look good to me." Seconds crawled by before Mandy's face split into hissing mirth. If you have never seen a salamence laugh, count yourself lucky. It isn't a pretty sight.

"Your father is very intuitive..." Mandy said after she was done doing what was considered a mockery of laughter. Silence again. I was getting sick of the awkward pauses by now, especially since it seemed I was the only one left with the awkward feeling. I sat down and was just about to weigh my options of napping next to a salamence when Mandy spoke, her eyes distant.

"You and I are alike in some ways. I used to have a territory where I constantly battled rival bagon who sought to not only depose me of my claim, but destroy me as well-"

"Kill you?" I blurted, "That sounds harsh. Why?"

Mandy shot me a warning glare. I wisely shut up.

"Humans take interest in the unique, I believe they have a name for us. "Shiny" pokemon they call us. Bagon, shellgon, salalmence however, do not indulge in such niceties. They only see things as "like me" and "not like me." I was challenged consistently, and I came out on top not for the sake of prestige, but because I had to if I wanted to survive. Hunting was also a difficult task. My coloring prevented me from effectively stalking my food and I was forced to change tactics. I became an excellent long distance sprinter. Those that tried to take cover in the safety of the rocks found the effort futile since I merely pounded the boulders to pebbles."

I tensed. That was the strategy I would often use to escape from predators. I imagined myself huddled against the rock wall trapped as the stones I had relied on to shelter me shattered to pieces, the one hunting me closing in for the kill. Teeth flashing, eyes blazing with the lust for my blood. I trembled visibly and broke into a cold sweat. Mandy continued as though she hadn't noticed how hard I was trying to remain in control of my bowels.

"It was a difficult life, but I believed it was just the way of things. I knew my place in the world and what was expected of me. Until the day a young man stepped forward to challenge me."

I was finally able to get my heart beat back from "humming" to "thumping" when my ears perked up. This part of the story sounded familiar.

"I was prideful, arrogant, haughty. It led to my defeat and eventual capture."

I snorted, and got another glare from Mandy. Something about her demeanor told me it was the last warning she was going to give me.

"Go on," I said quietly.

"I was humiliated and furious," Mandy said. Her claws flexed tearing deep furrows into the ground as old memories flooded her. I flinched away fervently wishing I wasn't tied up.

"I wanted nothing more than to bury this human that had dealt me such an insult!" She paused from her reverie, taking a moment to breathe deeply and force herself to calm down. "At first, I refused his commands, stubbornly did the opposite or nothing at all during battles against his opponents. Surprisingly to me, the young man never raised his voice, never spoke harshly. I had never seen a man nor pokemon so patient." A small smile crossed Mandy's face and her voice softened.

"All my life I had known nothing but struggle and bitterness. I had never been treated with kindness before and the feeling was new. Alien. My anger faded only to be replaced with confusion. I had done nothing to earn this man's compassion and yet his fondness for me glowed with a comforting warmth that touched the deepest pit of my hardened heart. I found myself...returning his kindness."

I listened in silence. I had not had the chance to meet Mandy's master, Cindy's father, but I had met Cindy's mother and I believe Cindy behaved more like her father than her mother. Of course I may have been biased since my first sight of Cindy's mother was when she was enraged. I reflected on my own actions lately. I admitted to myself that I had been a major jerk to everyone I had met (except Mandy of course). Granted I have had a bad couple of days so my behavior was justified.

Wasn't it?

"From then on, we were a powerful team," Mandy said. "Our competitors crumpled beneath our might, and we formed a bond that could only be described as stalwart. Through my human's firm and gentle guidance, he pushed me to become what you see me as today, while I taught him a thing or two on battle strategy."

"Ever make it to the league?" I asked dryly. I was tired of the pokemon around me bragging of how great their people were. So I decided to test Mandy by comparing her to the greats from the Pokemon League. Every pokemon from the newest hatchling to the most grizzled among us, knew the legends surrounding the league. That the humans and pokemon worked in tandem with each other so closely, that their strength was nearly unmatched.

We also knew of the tale surrounding the child from Twinleaf that saved Sinnoh from certain doom and later went on to become champion, but that was another story.

Mandy studied my face with a scrutinizing stare before answering.

"We challenged the league, but did not make it to the champion. By this time, my human had already met his mate and we both were satisfied to finally end our journey."

"Uh huh..." I said with a roll of my eyes.

"I am content. Whole. I believe the reason you are here eevee is because you are as incomplete as I was before I met my human." Mandy smiled warmly, "You should consider yourself lucky."

"I don't feel lucky," I growled. "In fact, I feel like a prisoner. Cindy can be as sweet as she wants, but I wont let her think for one-second that I will obey her commands!"

"You can remain unyielding eevee," Mandy said irritably. "However, doing so is unwise. The greatest strength one can achieve is not through stone-like rigidity. Eventually, something with a strong enough head will come along and smash you to powder. True strength lies in flexibility. If you are able to compromise, you will find the true path to your potential."

My ears flattened as my lips twisted up into a sarcastic smirk. "Did a medicham tell you that tripe? Or, did you get that off a fortune cookie?"

Mandy moved so quickly, my brain didn't register what had happened until it was too late. She slammed a massive paw down on the leash near my head and smashed my head to the ground. I felt my airway get cut off as she choked up on my tether and I feebly tried to get my feet under me while making desperate gurgling noises.

"Let me be blunt then," Mandy hissed into my ear. "Cindy is the offspring of my human and she is now your human. You have a responsibility to protect your human from harm. You _will_ defend her and you _will_ support her through any means necessary or it will be my utmost pleasure in hunting you down. Do you understand me?"

I tried to say, "Crystal clear," but it came out more like a "ackh!... gnarg!" instead. I seemed to get my point across though because she let me up, but not without stamping on the leash with an angry snort grinding my face further into the dirt. I gasped and scuttled away from her, the sharp scent of brimstone in my nose. I watched her apprehensively taking ragged breaths.

"So long as we understand one another," Mandy snarled.

I was extremely relieved when Cindy showed up a few seconds later. She quickly took note of my body language and stepped between me and Mandy. The salamence's eyes softened the moment Cindy had stepped into view and she took on a sleepy, bored expression.

"Hiya Mandy," Cindy exclaimed as she reached up to scratch Mandy under her chin. Mandy lazily closed her eyes in contentment. "Stop making Corin jittery. Daddy will be out with your breakfast soon."

She quickly untied my leash from the post and led me away. I did not resist her. As Cindy led me into the house I could feel Mandy's eyes boring into my back.

I didn't dare look behind me.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the late update. Had to take a week for finals. It feels good to be writing again. Thanks for the feed back! I hope to be updating more often soon, and I will see about uploading a new image in the future!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 Prep Work

The rest of the week droned by with fresh new indignities for me to endure. I was allowed back into the house for the duration, but only because Cindy promised her mother that I would not pee in the house anymore. I didn't see what the big deal was. We all do it. It isn't anything to be ashamed of. Except when you do it if you're too excited or scared. Thats hilarious or sad no matter who or what you are.

I along with many others use it to advertise myself. Think of it as a human "About me" page. When I mark my territory, I give those visiting an idea about my health, my potential as a mate and even how violent I can get if the invader gets any funny ideas. It also has the added benefit of deterring fights. Believe it or not, most wild pokemon don't like to fight and we avoid it as much as possible. Even small injuries can really have an impact on you if you let them stack up in the wild. It can change how you hunt or forage, or even prevent you from doing either.

It is a very slow, agonizing and regretful way to die.

I was going to, in my typical rebellious fashion, drench the house with _eau de Corin_, but Cindy's mother got to me first. She hauled me up by the scruff of my neck, her face crimson and veins throbbing, to make sure I was seeing her eye to eye.

To make a rather long, expletive filled story short and appropriate, she threatened me that if she caught even a small whiff of my eevee water she would have me fixed faster that I could say, "Apricorn." I made sure to hold it after that. I would rather stay intact thank you.

The next day after my lovely chat with both dragon ladies, Cindy took me to a place called a pokemon center for what she called a "check up." They should change the term from "check up" to "check-being poked and prodded and jabbed until you snap and try to rip someone's head off yet they don't have any idea why you got so mad and bit the crap out of their hand-up." Maybe that is a little too long but that was exactly what happened. They gave me a flea and tick bath (which I hated), pinned me down so they could get the mites out of my ears (I was thinking murderous thoughts by then), and by the time they got to the shots, yes I said shots plural, I was hurling medical instruments at them that weighed ten times my weight. I think one of the shots must have been a sedative because after they were administered, the rest of the check up went smoothly since I was busy thinking happy, fuzzy thoughts.

I didn't remember much after we came back from the pokemon center. I think Capistrano tried to talk to me, all I did was smile and nod at him from my pile of blankets made for me at the floor of Cindy's bed. Sye made some snide comment to me mentally but all I heard was, _"Blah, blah, blah."_ Which is really no different as to how I hear him anyway. I crashed hard and woke up the next morning with cotton mouth and shaky limbs.

The following day was spent at the general store. I had to brush off snickers and jeers from the neighborhood pokemon as Cindy, dressed in simple blue slacks and a white sweater, took me past them. Some of them even tried throwing rocks or other nasty things at me, which made Cindy immediately fly to my rescue. She scolded the guilty ones and wound up emasculating me even further.

Thanks, Cindy.

I was in an understandably sour mood when we reached the store and was irritably dragging my paws as Cindy ushered me around the shop and squealing with delight as she shopped. She chose a trainer's handbag, (purple of course) a good pair of white running shoes, (with purple laces) and a trainer's belt. (purple and it matched her bag. I know because she wouldn't shut up about it.) Her belt contained Sye and Capistrano in their pokeballs shrunk down to the size of golfballs. Mine was there too and it gave me a flicker of hope. I had no idea pokeballs could get that small. It would make it all the easier to carry it with me once I made my escape. If I was bound to my pokeball like Felicity had said, then it would make sense that I would be free if I broke the thing.

I was so busy fantasizing about shattering my pokeball on a rock somewhere, that I hadn't noticed that Cindy had kneeled in front of me until she spoke.

"I got a surprise for you Corin," She said bubbling with excitement. "I just had it made! I know it's going to look great on you."

She reached into the small paper bag she clutched in her hands and drew out a soft, Cheri berry red, leather collar. It looked smaller and far more slender than the thing I currently wore around my neck. She held me under one arm while she slipped off the old black collar and buckled on the new one. It fit much better and was actually quite comfortable.

"A perfect fit!" Cindy exclaimed giddy with approval. "You gotta see yourself! Where's a mirror?" Still holding me under one arm, I suddenly found myself being bounced in her arms as she ran around the store looking for the nearest mirror. Before I could even protest she skidded to a stop and plopped me down in front of a large fitting room mirror where I could better see the dumbfounded look of surprise on my face.

Cindy giggled again. "Don't you look handsome!"

I actually didn't look half bad. The bath (though stupid and dumb and stupid, did I mention the bath was stupid?) had been good for me. My fur shone with a healthy glow and was neatly combed. My mane fell softly around my shoulders and resting there was the red collar that contrasted nicely with my goldenrod yellow fur. There was a glimmer on the collar I hadn't noticed before. Hanging in the middle was a six pointed star set into a gleaming silver medallion and it had something scrawled into it. I toyed with the shiny metal piece fascinated.

"Your name and my name and info are on it. That way if we ever get separated, I can find you!" Cindy said beaming.

I was still busy playing with the sparkly metal charm in baffled wonder. No one had ever given me something so nice before. I was beginning to feel guilty for dreaming up escape plans in my spare time but I quickly slapped my feelings down and buried them. I was, after all, still a wild pokemon that had no business spending time with humans.

Cindy then started to shop for items to fill her new bag. She tucked away potions, an escape rope and ugh...up to five more empty pokeballs.

"Who knows how many new friends we'll meet on our journey," Cindy explained to me as she put them away in her bag.

_"Yeah, who knows how many more like me you'll subject to utter humiliation."_ I thought bitterly.

_"Not all wild pokemon think the way you do Corin,"_ muttered Sye as he crept into my mind.

_"Great. You can be annoying even still in your pokeball. Congratulations."_ I shot back trying to put as much sarcasm into my thoughts and emotions as possible. Maybe he'd take the hint.

_"I can do much while in my ball. I can see through others, read their minds and hearts. Including yours Corin."_

Nope. I guess Sye was too stupid for sarcasm. I had a troubling revelation though.

_"How long had you been reading my thoughts?"_ I mentally demanded.

_"Long enough,"_ Sye replied. _"What you were feeling was gratitude. You should give it a whirl sometime when you're not too busy thinking only of yourself."_

"Oh shut up!" I said out loud before I realized it.

People across the aisle from us looked over at me when they heard my sudden cry, then turned back to their shopping. Cindy reached down and idly scratched a spot behind my ear before returning to comparing price tags.

_"You are wild. That much is true Corin. It's only natural for you to be selfish. All wild pokemon are,"_ Sye continued.

I felt my anger begin to boil over, but I managed to locate the little twerp lingering in my mind and imagined a large boulder hovering over him.

_"Thats nice. Time to go now. Bye bye then."_ I thought at the mental Sye viciously.

_"I am getting wise to your tactics Corin. There will come a day when you will be unable t-"_

I let the imaginary boulder fall on Sye and it squished him out of my mind.

Ah, sweet silence.

The next day was an utter test of patience which I completely lack. We went to a boring, official looking building where we waited in a boring, slow moving line, got a number, waited in another boring line and sat down to wait for our number to be called. Cindy fidgeted in her chair while I paced around her crossly until I ran out of leash and reversed direction. After what seemed like years, our number was finally called and we rushed over to a drab desk with an equally drab looking official seated at it. The middle aged woman adjusted her horn-rimmed glasses while Cindy took a seat and scooped me up to sit in her lap. I shot her an annoyed look but settled in. The woman adjusted her papers and cleared her throat primly.

"Identification please," she said crisply.

Cindy reached into her new trainer's bag and drew out a small slip of plastic with her picture on it. It was hardly the best looking picture of Cindy. She handed it to the official who studied it for the space of a couple of seconds.

"To register officially as a trainer, you must be of the right age. You are underage."

"I have a recommendation form signed by my teacher and parents," Cindy said her voice muffled as she rummaged through her bag. A wrinkled paper was taken out and passed to the lady who sniffed as she studied it.

"Hmm...Everything seems to be in order...very well," The lady stamped the paper and gave Cindy her card back as well as another stack of papers.

"Please fill out these forms while we take your pokemon and register them with your number. Please pass over your pokeballs," The woman said briskly as she took out a small tray. Cindy placed the balls in the tray including mine. The woman's eyes shifted over to me as if noticing me for the first time.

She cleared her throat. "Why is your eevee out of his pokeball?

Cindy shrugged. "He prefers to stay out ma'am."

The lady looked me over disapprovingly before shaking her head and taking the tray, muttering something about how "A pokemon's proper place is inside it's ball." I glowered after her while Cindy busily started scratching at the tower of papers with a pen. Another million years went by before Cindy prodded me awake from a nap I hadn't realized I had been taking. The lady had returned with the tray. Nothing looked different from when I had seen it last time. Cindy slid the mountain of papers over to the woman who flipped through the stack, stamping some of them with practiced efficacy. She stamped a paper and handed it to Cindy.

Sheesh! How many papers does it take to get out of here already?

"Take this form over to the camera on your right to get your picture taken and receive your trainer's card and badge box," The woman said bored.

"Thank you," Cindy said rising quickly and dumping me from her lap. She snatched up the form, Capistrano, Sye and Felicity as I stretched not knowing how much longer I could stand being in this place. We waited in, you guessed it, another line until we reached the desk with a camera mounted firmly on it. A weathered old man sat behind it wearing a blank expression. He took the paper from Cindy and motioned her to stand in front of an ugly background. Before the picture was snapped, Cindy snatched me up and hugged me tight as the camera flashed so bright spots of color swirled across my vision as we walked over to what was hopefully the last desk.

"Cindy?"

A girl whose voice I did not recognize emerged from the crowd. She had sharp features and had pale skin as though she did not get outside much. She had the scrawny bone structure that came with youth but she was starting to fill out, slightly more than Cindy. She was taller than Cindy by a few inches more. Her shiny, chestnut hair was cut short and curled delicately around her ears. She wore a smirk that seemed to fit her personality well.

Like a circling gabite.

I heard Cindy let out a small sigh. "Merinda. How are you?"

"I just got my trainer's card and box!" The girl bragged thrusting out her treasures, "I only had to wait a couple of minutes too. My daddy got me a special appointment so I didn't have to wait." Her smirk widened and her cold blue eyes flashed maliciously. "What are you doing here?" She asked voice dripping with honey.

And poison.

"I'm about to get mine too," Cindy smiled. "We'll be ready to go by tomorrow."

"You?" Merinda laughed. "Aren't you a little too _young_ to go?" She put particular emphasis on the word "young" as though she enjoyed rubbing Cindy's face in it. I felt my hackles raise.

"Mr. Prattleby signed the papers for me," Cindy said barely unable to contain her excitement. She either did not hear the scorn in Merinda's voice or simply ignored it.

Merinda sighed. "Oh, Mr. Prattleby. I remember him. He can be so misguided sometimes. I do hope you're not taking your starly with you. He can't possibly protect you from the dangers out there."

"I am taking Capistrano with me and he will do just fine." Cindy said narrowing her eyes. "Besides, I have Sye and mom is letting me take Felicity."

"Oh! Her _old_ Luxio. What a coincidence. My mom is letting me take Priscilla so we can dominate in the pokemon contests. If you're taking Felicity then that means we might be rivals," Merinda sneered. "Don't take this the wrong way Cindy, but I don't think you should go. Sye and Felicity aren't good enough to protect you." "Then Corin will," Cindy said coldly, "I'm going Merinda."

"Ok ok," Merinda held up her hands in mock surrender. Not taking her eyes off Cindy, Merinda's head angled towards me. "Isn't that the eevee thats been causing trouble around here?"

I took a step toward her growling.

"I love that about you Cindy," Merinda drawled as she turned on her heels and began walking away. "You always have a soft spot for lost causes." She glanced over her shoulder and added, "A word of advice. Make sure _Corin_ doesn't go out at night. Priscilla is still mad at him for all the times he stole her food and I can't watch her all the time."

We watched her go. Both of us shooting heated glares at her back.

"Next!" Sang a voice behind the desk. Cindy jumped as though she completely forgotten about what she was doing and quickly shuffled to the front of the desk. Unlike the rest of the officials in the building the plump woman seated at the desk was bright and cheerful. A ray of sunshine amid the dull.

"Here is your card and your box dear," bubbled the woman as she gave Cindy a small box and slip of plastic. "Congratulations and good luck to you honey! Next!"

Cindy slid out of line and hoisted me in her arms again giggling. She held out her trainer's card proudly.

"We're official now Corin! I can't believe it! We look so good too!"

Our picture was stamped across the plastic card. Cindy was smiling pleasantly, I looked rather ugly and confused.

"Thats peachy. Can we get outta here now?" I demanded squirming.

"We gotta show mom and dad!" Cindy exclaimed and out the door we went, Cindy practically skipping all the way home and me bouncing uncomfortably in her arms. Cindy bounded up the yard and set me down as she ran into the house.

"Daddy! Daddy! Look! I got my card!" She called as she burst into the living room.

The man seated on the couch rose wearily but with a huge grin plastered on his weathered face as Cindy rushed into his powerful arms. He had a clean cut square jaw, skin that looked rough and darkened by time spent outside. His hair was clipped short and was dark like Cindy's but starting to pepper here and there with grey. Like his daughter, his eyes were deep green, warm and shone with subtle but gentle strength. Unlike Cindy however, his eyes glimmered with the experience and lassitude of age. On meeting this man, all defiance in me vanished. He was one that should he give a command, I would obey without question. I knew why as a pang of sadness went through me.

He reminded me of my father.

"You two look good," The man boomed as he held out Cindy's card. "My little girl is finally a trainer."

Cindy's mother came out of the kitchen drying her hands with a towel. "Just in time for dinner too. Wash up and we'll eat."

"How about a quick battle before we eat Gina? Like we talked about," The man said with a glance over at Cindy's mother.

"Oh Ben..." Cindy's mother sighed exasperated. "You and your battles...I suppose a quick one before dinner gets cold."

Cindy looked puzzled, "What? A battle?"

Cindy's father smiled. "Your eevee is still fairly new to you. Watching him battle will give us all an idea of what he is capable of."

My heart raced and my stomach dropped. A battle I could handle, depending on _who_ my opponent was. If I was facing Ben's pokemon, that would most likely mean I would be battling Mandy and simply talking to her made me want to call it a day. I looked up at Cindy and shook my head emphatically.

Cindy noticed me and bit her lower lip. "You're not going to use Mandy are you?"

"Oh don't worry Cindy," her father replied. "I wouldn't do that to you or Corin. It is just a simple battle to see what he can do. He wont get hurt enough to have to go to a center I promise."

I was still shaking my head insistently at her pleading.

"I... I guess that would be ok then. As long as he gets healed when it's over," Cindy said nervous tension in her voice.

"Lets all head into the backyard quickly then," Cindy mother said cheerfully.

Cindy pulled on my leash and I of course resisted her. I did not feel like getting thrashed by Mandy even though Cindy's father promised that I wouldn't get too badly hurt. She ended up grabbing me and carrying me the rest of the way. I struggled whimpering softly.

"It's ok Corin," Cindy whispered. "I'll take care of you."

She released me and I leapt out of her arms and into the backyard. Instead of facing Ben I saw Cindy's mother, Gina in the yard with a familiar pokeball in her hand.

"Don't give Corin any commands Cindy." Ben said gently behind me. "This is all him. Ready dear?" That last part was directed at Cindy's mother whose face took on a focused hard edge.

Gina nodded. "Always."

I widened my stance and got ready to fight. There was no walking away now and I was ready as I was going to be.

Cindy's mother tossed the pokeball. Her voice rang over the popping sound of the ball opening.

"Go Felicity!"

The Luxio appeared mere feet in front of me and her voice twisted into a sadistic smile.

"Hello dearie. Fancy meeting you here on the battlefield. We have some business to settle."

I growled in response. No sense mincing words now. We circled each other looking for weaknesses to exploit.

"Now Felicity! Howl!" Gina's voice cut the air, clarion in the darkening sky.

"I recall telling you that my grandfather was a raichu," Felicity smirked her teeth gleaming. "I didn't get the chance to mention that my father was a fierce houndoom!" And with that, she sat back and howled.

When some pokemon howl, it can be beautiful and haunting. I often fell asleep listening to the howls in the night. Like some kind of feral lullaby. Felicity's howl was a perversion of a true howl. It was high pitched and screamy more than musical and I cringed at the sound of it. The mockery of a howl did have some effect though. I could feel a berserker's fury rising in her. Her strength reaching uncomfortable levels. I took a defensive stance and turned my right flank to her. If I let her hit me now I had a feeling I would have a lot of trouble getting up again. If I got up at all.

But I had a trick or two of my own and I saw the perfect opening. Felicity was the kind of opponent that liked to talk a good game and that worked out to my advantage.

"Now," Felicity sneered power emanating from her. "If you surrender right now things wont have to get positiv-"

She was interrupted as a clod of dirt slapped her in the face. She sputtered and spat out granules wiping at her eyes.

"Now that was absolutely child-"

Another barrage of dirt hit her in the face making her stagger and cough. I snickered as her anger peaked.

"Thats it! I'm going to make you-"

She just didn't get it. I kicked another wave of dust in her face and laughed.

"Felicity!" Gina commanded, "Stop fooling around and get him. Fire Fang!"

Felicity lunged for me her mouth gushing bright hot flames. That momentarily took me by surprise. I didn't expect an electric type to know a fire move. I recovered quickly and nimbly stepped out of her way. She missed me by several feet and whirled trying to orient on where I went trying to blink all the sand out of her eyes. Her charge left her wide open and I tackled slipping in close and cuffing her hard on the back of the head. She stumbled and snapped at me but I was already gone. I turned and went in again this time aiming for her back legs. Felicity went down hard and I was just about to circle around and finish her when Gina's command split the air.

"Felicity! Discharge!"

The sudden static that charged the surrounding air was enough to make my fur stand on end. I realized my mistake and slid to a stop twisting my paws in a desperate and futile attempt to change direction. It didn't change anything.

I was so close it was impossible for her to miss.

The backyard was suddenly brightly lit as Felicity unleashed her electric attack. It's jagged fingers struck my body and sent every muscle into spastic, quivering agony. I screamed in pain trying to tear myself away from the electric embrace. I collapsed as the attack ended still twitching involuntarily.

Felicity shook the last bit of dirt from her eyes and rose with a snarl. Without another word, she advanced on me, the heat from the flames in her mouth as intense as the burning anger in her eyes. My brain screamed at me to get up and I tried to obey, but my body was locked in place no matter how hard I tried to move. I could only watch helplessly as Felicity stalked toward me, intent on crunching down on my head.

Or roasting me alive, which ever came first.

"Thats enough!" Yelled Cindy, "Mom! I think the battle is over. Make Felicity stop!"

Felicity reached where I lay and stood over me getting ready to finish me off. I made one last frantic attempt to get up. My body just wouldn't respond. My eyes widened as Felicity's jaws opened.

I heard Gina sigh. "Come back Felicity. Corin is no longer able to battle." I saw Felicity growl and consider disobeying her trainer before she turned and began to walk back.

"What you are feeling is paralysis," Felicity hissed as she looked back over her shoulder. "Learn it well, because it is what will happen to you if you ever challenge me again."

I was going to say something snarky back, but it seemed I was tongue tied too. To add insult to injury, Felicity kicked a mound of dirt at me with her back leg as she walked back toward Cindy's mother. I was too numbed to feel Cindy pick me up, but I could see tears rimming her eyes.

"Daddy!" Cindy sobbed as she buried her face in my side. "Felicity was too rough! She could have killed Corin!"

"This is something you must expect when you battle Cindy." Her father told her gently as he embraced her. "Corin fought remarkably, but he lost because he lacked guidance."

"I had her. I just got too close. I don't need any help." I tried to say, but it came out as a weak groan instead.

"I don't want him to get hurt like that again," Cindy wept.

"Then learn from this battle my angel. You can learn just as much, if not more from a loss as a victory. This was also just practice. If this was a real battle, Corin may have been in worse trouble. If seeing him paralyzed upsets you this much, maybe you should reconsider becoming a trainer." The man said quietly.

It was quiet for a few minutes as Cindy lost herself in thought. I draped limply in her arms listening to the beginnings of nightfall. The breeze, the chirps, the howls, even the stillness that night brings has it's own kind of melody. Gina had approached and joined in on the embrace. I could hear their hearts beating in tandem with each other. I longed for moments like this. To share these special moments with my family. I was deluding myself. My family was gone. I would never know such warm comfort again. Such knowledge didn't help much though.

It didn't make the feelings of longing and empty nights hurt any less.

"I want to be a trainer daddy. I wanna make you and mama proud. I wont forget what you've taught me," Cindy whispered.

Her father broke away from the hug and looked into her eyes with his hands on her shoulders.

"We will always be proud of you no matter what you do Cindy. I know you'll do great," He said beaming. "Now I don't know about you, but I'm starving!"

"I think we have a paralysis heal in the cupboard somewhere," Cindy's mother said her voice cracked. She hurried into the house wiping her eyes as she went.

One healing spray and incredible goodbye feast later. I lay on my back in my makeshift bed feeling like I was ready to pop. Cindy also lay on her back in her bed staring up at the ceiling. We both stayed that way until the sky began to blush with the rosy rays of dawn and the sun peeked over the buildings.

Cindy's first day as an official pokemon trainer had begun.

Author's Note

Finally! I didn't think they would ever get started! I admit, the chapter feels a little rushed. I may go back and change it later. I was sort of debating whether or not to add Merinda, but I figured it would help me with story material later. Besides, it's kinda a given for a pokemon story to have a rival in it. As always, reviews and suggestions are appreciated. Thanks for following me or reading!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 Goodbye and Hello

Cindy rose from her bed without a word and quietly changed, slipping on a violet, long-sleeved shirt that complemented her gangly shape and comfortable, heavy jeans. She folded her pajamas almost lovingly and laid them in the laundry basket in the far corner of her room. As the soft yellow fingers of sunlight began to stretch through Cindy's window, she pulled a dense, faded silver jacket out of her closet as well as a warm, pale yellow wool cap and matching scarf. I stayed where I was watching her prepare as the familiar feelings of dread that I had been feeling since my capture settled in comfortably. I was actually beginning to welcome them.

It makes me wonder if something is really wrong with me sometimes.

Cindy took inventory once more of her pack and belongings. She had her pretty new bag stuffed full of pokemon trainer essentials, but she also had a large weighty backpack filled with equipment vital for camping and long excursions into the outdoors. The dread lifted from me slightly. I did enjoy being outside and I was starting to feel anxious from days spent in the house. Certain that she hadn't missed anything, Cindy pulled on clean white socks and followed those with her new running shoes. From my spot I could see her face clearly as she sat on the floor, fiddling with her shoelaces. Worry lined her face and her shoulders were rigid with tension, but in her eyes, I saw the same steadfast determination that had defined her. I began to realize her determination was a quality I was starting to admire about her.

She looked a lot like her father.

With a grunt of exertion, Cindy hauled her equipment downstairs. Silence lay over the room again. I sighed heavily, heaved myself to my paws and loped down the stairs to join the rest of Cindy's family for breakfast.

The table was quiet. Cindy and her parents ate very little, even Cindy's pokemon, who were let out of their pokeballs to join us, picked at their food. The only real sounds were made by me as I slurped my porridge from a plastic bowl on the floor. Pausing every so often to lick globs of honey from my jowls. Dread and anxiousness aside, I never turn down a free meal.

Long after I had swallowed the last bite of food and cleaned the grits off my face as best as I could, Cindy and her parents finally gave up trying to delay the inevitable and cleared off the table. My leash was clipped to my collar as Cindy hoisted the pack onto her shoulders and we all walked out to the gate. Ben took Cindy into a long embrace as Gina turned and knelt down to my eye level. I eyed her warily as she took hold of my collar so that I couldn't look away from her.

"Please Corin," She whispered hoarsely, tears rimming her eyes. "Please bring my baby back in one piece."

I blinked at her in surprise. I was expecting her to threaten me with painful retribution if I let any harm come to Cindy. The fact that she said, "Please" completely knocked me off balance. I felt my ears droop. The look in Gina's eyes was one I was familiar with. It was the same anxious look my own mother reserved for me when I used to go trail blazing with my dad. The one all mother's wear when they know their young ones must strike out on their own, but can't help but mull over the hundreds of ways things can go fantastically wrong.

I grimaced as a new wave of guilt cascaded over me. I was planning on ditching Cindy the first opportunity I got. I sighed and met her eyes.

"I... can't promise you anything, but I'll see what I can do." I muttered, writhing in physical and mental discomfort.

Gina nodded as if she understood me, (doubtful) and released me standing up and brushing the dirt off her knees before moving over to Cindy. Ben had released her from the bear hug he had her locked in and enfolded her in a much gentler embrace. I noticed he had slipped something into her trainer's bag as he whispered in her ear. Small machines no bigger than a disc you use to play music from, I think they're called CD's?

"Remember angel," Cindy's father murmured as Cindy pulled away. "No matter what happens, we will always be proud of you."

Gina looked like she wanted to add more to what he said, but she couldn't. I heard her make an almost inaudible sob and she nodded instead, smiling, tears streaming down her face. Cindy turned and we began to walk through the gate. She turned back with a nervous smile and her throat tight.

"Bye mom. Bye dad. Love you."

"We love you too sweetie," quavered Gina.

"Go get 'em angel," coaxed Ben.

Cindy turned quickly and we began walking at a brisk pace, Cindy wiping hurriedly at her eyes so that no one would see the tears.

We headed north from Cindy's house towards the northern exit of Jubilife. There were no jeers from the neighborhood pokemon this time. It seemed as though they innately knew there was a fledgling trainer in their midst and even though she was inexperienced, they granted her (and ultimately me), a small measure of respect.

I could get used to that.

When we reached the fringes of Jubilife, I hesitated. I was able to set my paws properly so when Cindy came to an abrupt halt as my leash went taut I didn't topple over. I looked past the city limits, unsure of what we were about to face. I thought I was over this by now, but it became apparent I wasn't.

"Don't be scared Corin," Cindy said giving a gentle tug on my leash.

"Scared," I snorted. "I'm not scared." But I still remained where I was. Cindy took another step out of Jubilife urging me to follow. I looked around me taking in the comfortable surroundings of the city and yearning for my spot near the tiny lake on Jubilife's outskirts.

"Aww...this place stinks anyway. No girls and no excitement," I took a few steps forward until I was in the lead. "Lets get out of here."

"Thats the spirit Corin!" Cheered Cindy as we began to walk out of the city.

"Yeah yeah, lets go team whatever," I grunted.

The walk went smoothly, well smoothly if you don't count all the wild pokemon who were practically clambering to take shots at us. It wasn't as though they were malicious or anything, it was as though they knew Cindy was a trainer and were eager to test their strength on us. Morons.

The morning sun had climbed high in the heavens by the time we reached the mouth of a small cave and settled down for a well deserved rest.

And lunch. My favorite time of day next to breakfast and dinner.

Cindy bit into her sandwich heartily while I nibbled at some kind of dried kibble that was set out for me, simultaneously giving Cindy the "sad eye" look for much tastier sandwich scraps and keeping vigilant. Though we sat in the cool shelter of the mouth of the cave, I could hear the squeaks and growls of the many pokemon that lurked inside. Cindy typical of her species, seemed oblivious to the cries. It baffles me sometimes how humans became an apex predator at all.

I on the other hand remained alert. I could interpret some of the sounds and not all were friendly. Some could smell our food and were plotting amongst themselves on how to take it from us, others were seething that we had the nerve to encroach on their territory. I responded with feigned aloofness. You never want to let wild pokemon sense nervousness or weakness. It's like begging them to play Yahtzee with your skull.

The angry cries died down considerably when Cindy let the others out to eat. Capistrano and I exchanged meaningless chitchat, Felicity ignored me completely which I preferred, and Sye and I finished up the lunch period by glaring daggers at one another.

We got going and easily made it through the tiny cave in one piece. I chalk it up to my overall tough guyness. It surely had nothing to do with how the wild pokemon wisely assessed Cindy as a threat and came to the conclusion that with as many pokemon she had, she would not be an easy target. It was all me. Seriously.

We continued northward Cindy chattering at me about where we were going. A place called Floaroma town where the gracidea flowers among others grow in vast numbers. I could smell the flowers in the distance as well as something else that made my mouth start watering.

Honey.

You see, we pokemon are complete suckers for honey. Lace a tree, fish hook, tennis shoe, whatever with it, and we'll come running guaranteed. Honey is known to help prevent disease and is a great source of energy. As a bonus, it tastes great too. I've seen pokemon crazy enough to get stung hundreds of times over by combee just to get a nibble of that sticky, liquid gold. I love the taste of honey second only to ice cream.

Nothing compares to ice cream. Period.

I was so busy thinking about the taste of sweet honey that as I ambled over to a bush to relieve myself, (Don't roll your eyes at me. I don't always feel the need to mark things I just sometimes need to go.), I didn't notice the bush was hiding someone until he burst from his hiding place with a shrill battle cry. I caught a flicker of orange and a flash of a large net as it swept down at me.

I reacted as I always do when I'm caught off guard. I leapt sideways with a startled yelp, grabbed a paw full of pebbles and flung them with my best guess at my attacker's eyes. I was rewarded with a shriek and sputtering. I recovered from the ambush and charged aiming for the aggressor's knees.

And was brought up short by Cindy as she pulled back on my leash.

I reared up on two legs snarling. Furious that I was caught flat-footed. Furious that I was being held back. Furious that I was kept from punishing my enemy who had shown me such contempt.

My enemy turned out to be a small boy, younger than Cindy. He wailed and flinched away from me, still rubbing dirt from his eyes. Despite the chills of approaching autumn, he wore a bright pair of yellow shorts and orange T-shirt. His large straw hat flipped from his head and his net tumbled from his hands as he backed away from me and nearly stumbled on his sandals as they jounced over his feet.

"Jeez lady! Get your eevee under control!" The boy cried.

Cindy pulled me away. "Corin! Corin! Calm down!"

"What the heck is your problem you little punk!?" I barked trying to get a hold of myself.

"What the heck is your eevee's problem?!" The boy yelled at Cindy.

"Why did you jump out like that?" Cindy snapped. "Corin is still a little wild. You spooked him."

"Less spooked, more pissed off," I growled my collar flared to emphasize my point.

The boy sniffed. "I was practicing. I'm training to be a ninja, and the first thing to master as a ninja is the element of surprise."

Cindy arched a brow at him. "Whats with the net?"

The boy fixed her with a flat stare. "I catch bug pokemon?" He snorted as if the answer was obvious. "You're a trainer aren't you?"

It was Cindy's turn to give him the flat look. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Not really," the boy sneered. "I bet you don't even have a badge yet do you girlie?"

My hackles raised and I snarled again. The sneer faded from his face.

"Permission to smack this kid's drifblim sized head from his shoulders?" I said quietly.

Cindy narrowed her eyes. "How about I prove it to you with a battle then?"

The boy appeared to consider her challenge for a few seconds before nodding.

"Fine. I'll take you on!"

I took an eager step forward tail raised like a banner.

"But I'm not battling your eevee."

"Fair enough," Cindy said with a shrug.

My tail drooped and I looked back at Cindy with an angry glare hoping she wasn't serious. She was. I felt slightly betrayed as she dragged me over to a shrub and began tying my leash to it. I refused to meet her eyes.

"C'mon Corin. Don't be mad. We both know you can easily beat this kid."

I snorted and shot her a glance.

"But he's one of those bug catchers which gives Capistrano the advantage and he needs the experience," Cindy said as she finished her knot. She gently scratched my chin while turning my head so I could look her in the eyes.

"You'll get the next one. I promise."

"Hey girlie!" The boy called, "You done? Lets battle already!"

Cindy put her hands on her hips crossly and strode over to do battle with the snot nosed brat leaving me to glare sourly after her.

I turned away as the battle began when Cindy tossed out Capistrano, looking terrified and yet determined to do his best for Cindy. I took my anger out on a pebble that happened to be at the wrong place in the wrong time and swatted it into the bushes.

It rolled back into my paws a couple of seconds later.

I scowled at it suspiciously and turned my gaze back into the underbrush. I kicked the pebble back into the bushes and watched for signs of movement. Sure enough, there was a quiver in the branches and I stiffened as the pebble gently rolled back to me. Not in the mood to play games, I picked up the pebble and threw it hard for a third time into the growth.

"Ouch! Not so hard you scraggy brute! You almost bruised me!" Said a sing-song voice followed by a budew as he emerged from the bushes.

I blinked.

The budew didn't seem to notice and continued in his falsetto voice. "I am Budew. How do you do? Hoo hoo hoo!" his false laughter faded when he saw I wasn't laughing and he angled his head to look up at me a pitying expression on his face.

"Are you perhaps, slow in the head? If you are, I do apologize."

"No, just didn't think that was funny," I replied glowering.

The budew skipped around me and I turned in place making sure I was facing him.

"Oh," he crooned. "The _serious_ sort are we? They're never much fun."

"What do you want?" I snapped.

I was on my guard with budew. The first time I had encountered one was when I was still new from my trip over Mt. Coronet. I was famished and half frozen so when I found a budew, I naturally wanted to see how the little grass pokemon tasted. I had pinned one beneath my paws and was about to bite down when it struck me with one of it's winding, delicate arms. The blow alone wasn't enough to deter me, but the poisonous barb it kept hidden in it's tiny floret hands did and it left me sick for a week.

The budew I was glaring at danced and twirled to a music only he could hear as he shrugged off my blunt demand.

"Why, to see the outcome of your trainer's battle of course! I find myself without a dance partner you see, and it is so much more fun to dance with two! I tried to make acquaintances with that horrid boy your trainer is with, but he would have none of it and sent his vicious hungry insects after me!" He finished his explanation with a pirouette. "The nerve of him!"

I rolled my eyes. "I still don't see what this has to do with Cindy."

"Cindy?" The budew said thoughtfully. "_Cindy_." He rolled her name around in his mouth as though testing it. "Yes! What a lovely name! I believe I should very much like to meet your Cindy."

"Sorry. Party's full. Get lost fruitcake." I grunted. The last thing I wanted was yet another weird teammate that annoyed the living heck out of me.

"But I did not see Cindy carrying a team of six. How can you say your team is full?" Budew chorused, grinning widely.

I advanced on the budew, fur bristling. "Because it just is, because I say so and because I will pummel you if you don't go so I'll say it again. Get lost you wimpy little weed!"

The budew deflated. "You don't have to be so uncouth," He grumbled still managing to make that sound like song. "Oh yes, I did have another reason for revealing myself. I wanted to warn Cindy."

I let out a short laugh. "Sorry, but you're far from threatening."

"Oh no, not about me," the budew replied. "But, about where she has chosen to place you."

I felt a creak and whirled in place to see that the shrub I was tied to was beginning to shudder.

"She has made the most unfortunate mistake to bind you to this territory's sudowoodo, and I am sorry to report that he has very bad manners indeed especially when awakened."

I growled as the shrub that was not a shrub straightened and looked around. The sudowoodo overshadowed me and my stomach quavered when I realized that my leash was tied around his middle. If he did decide to attack me in a grumpy rage, I would have very limited space to maneuver. I slunk around in his shadow as he shook the dust off with an annoyed yawn. If I could stay out of his line of vision, maybe he would notice the leash and snap it before he snapped me. I tried to think invisible thoughts and hoped I got lucky.

Luck as it turns out where I am concerned, has a very sick sense of humor.

My plan worked too well. The first thing he noticed was Cindy and the boy locked in battle with one another. The sudowoodo gave a contemptuous snort, turned and pelted headlong into the undergrowth with more speed than seemed possible for his heavy body and size.

Dragging yours truly along for the ride.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 Sudowoodo are a Drag

Spending time with humans has given me the opportunity to watch a lot of movies. Plenty of these movies I've seen involve the characters doing some pretty spectacular yet ridiculous stuff. For example, the hero (or heroine for all you ladies out there that obsess about "girl power"), clings for dear life on a rope as it is dragged at high speeds by a car or rampaging pokemon. The character grits his or her teeth, climbs doggedly up the rope and swings back into the vehicle to resume battle with the forces of evil or bring the stampeding pokemon to a halt. After the chaos is over they look no worse for wear, having a few scrapes and bruises to show for their trouble and go merrily on their way as if the whole thing hadn't been that painful.

That is the ridiculous part right there.

I hooked my front paws into my collar to keep the sudowoodo from strangling me as he dashed across the woods. I tumbled head over tail as the rocky ground churned under me, branches cut at my face and all manner of roots and twigs battered the breath from me.

In short, it hurt. It hurt a lot.

By the time the stumpy tree with legs had slowed to a stop, I was twisted into a limp mass, still alive but conscious enough to take inventory of every fresh new injury with crystal clarity. Yippee. As if that wasn't bad enough, I was able to open one eye wide enough to notice that Treehugger had finally become aware of my presence. Double yippie.

"What you doing!" The sudowoodo demanded, his voice loud and grating on my ears.

"My best geodude impression?" I groaned, my mouth moving faster than my brain.

The sudowoodo had picked up a bit of leash and trailed it back to his middle. He looked down on me with a glare that could drill holes into fossils.

"Let go fuzzy thing."

"I would if I could." I said woozily trying to get to my feet. Everything was spinning around so much it was hard trying to find the ground.

Tree boy clenched a branchy fist that made a gravelly, grinding sound. I found that strange. I thought only rock type pokemon made that noise.

"Let go now!"

"I can't! I'm not even holding on to you, you nut!"

"You let go or me smash you!"

_That_ gave me moments pause enough to hold my tongue and kick start my jumbled brain into gear. I needed to choose my next words carefully or Tree boy would make sure I'd wind up an oozing, unrecognizable pile. Which, believe it or not, was not one of the worst things that had ever happened to me.

"I really need to do something about my bad luck," I muttered as I finally managed to rise on unsteady legs. My right eye refused to open so I could only look at him through my left. Even with one eye, I could tell this pokemon was bad news.

"What you say!?" The sudowoodo growled, raising his fist like a hammer.

"Look. You really don't want to smash me." I said calmly even though my tiny eevee heart was going a million miles an hour.

Treehugger paused glowering, "Why?"

"Because, even if you do squish me into a pulpy mass, I would still be attached to you," I said. "Dead weight and after a while, dead weight that smells bad."

The sudowoodo lowered his fist, to my relief. He cocked his head, glancing up at the sky as if the answer was up there. If I wasn't in the situation and pain I was in, I would have found it extremely funny. He let out a whistling sigh and looked back at me. I did my best to look harmless and friendly though compared to the power he was exuding, I didn't have to try very hard.

"Me no like smelly things. What we do?"

"Sit back and wonder how you got so articulate for one," I grumbled. I picked up a pawful of leash. "This is whats holding us together. If you break this, we'll both be free. Get it?"

"Break? Me thought you no want break."

I let out an exasperated snarl. "No flower child! Not me! This thing!" I shoved the leash forward for emphasis, "This!"

The sudowoodo reeled back from my last comment before leaning forward so that we were face to face. I didn't flinch away. I was angry and frustrated enough at the moment not to care that he could pound me flat.

"Me think fuzzy thing has very big mouth," Treeboy said darkly.

"Me no have big mouth," I said mimicking him. "You just have tiny brain!"

Oops.

If you are studying the fine art of diplomacy, note that what I said ladies and gentleman, is not the sterling way to avoid getting your skull bashed in. I immediately regretted what I said, but all the regret in the world wasn't going to take back what happened next. The sudowoodo looked like he had swallowed hot coals, and then his face twisted in fury and he lunged at me with a roar.

I neatly dodged his attack, but was forced to duck sideways as he came out of his lunge and snapped out his foot in a clumsy, but nonetheless efficient low kick. Low kick? This thing knew fighting moves? Fantastic. I was in big trouble now. When it came to battling, I fought quick and dirty. I was no match for any pokemon even remotely trained in martial arts. And here I was, tethered to one that wanted to kill me.

I changed tactics. My usual strategy would be to kick sand in Treehugger's face, and then run away (laughing of course) before he could clear the grit from his eyes. But my escape options were moot, so I stuck to the former. Sudowoodo took a powerful swing at me. I rolled underneath the attack, getting in close and hit him square in the eyes with dust. He may have been as strong as I had guessed and faster than I had thought, but I still had speed to my advantage. He gagged and staggered backward. I rebounded and threw myself at his left flank in the hardest tackle I could manage.

And bounced off him like I was made of rubber.

It felt as though I had slammed my right shoulder into a wall. My shoulder throbbed and went numb down to the paw. I heard myself cry out in pain and confusion. No matter how strong a grass type pokemon was, they weren't that sturdy. Something to do with giving a little to avoid breaking like Mandy saying when she tried going "old-wise-master" on me. Treeboy seemed to guess what I was thinking, (shock and awe) and swung at me cackling.

"Me no flower! Me strong as rock!"

I managed, barely, to dodge his attack. A rock type that looked like a grass type. Well, suck a stick that changed things a lot. My situation just went from hopeless to suicidal. I danced around another low kick and started kicking up large dust clouds of sand. My only option was to make myself as hard to hit as I could knowing even one lucky shot could mean curtains for me. The effort was futile though. Even if I blinded him with sand, I couldn't get away from him. Being a rock type meant I would wear out faster than he would. I was only delaying the inevitable.

Flower Child's laughing turned to choking fits of rage as dirt filled his mouth and he started twisting more violently, swinging everywhere. I bobbed and weaved around his attacks but felt myself beginning to tire. Blood pounded in my ears and even I was beginning to choke on the dust I had kicked up as I gasped for air.

_"There has to be some way to topple this tree. If I could knock him down, I might have a chance!"_ I thought frantically as I was forced to leap backward. The leash snapped tight and I almost fell from the recoil. That was when I had an idea. It was stupid and extremely risky, but it was the only one I had. I picked up two portions of leash with my teeth and stood my ground.

The sudowoodo charged at me with the full power of an oncoming train. The next few seconds were going to be critical. I swallowed and stayed put even though my brain was screaming at me to run. The sudowoodo closed the distance with frightening speed, brought up his fist and brought it hurtling down at me like a club. At the last second I darted not to the left or right.

But forward.

I was relying on my sand attack to have blinded Treeboy just enough for what I was doing. It worked but just barely. His fist scraped the side of my face as I rushed past flinging the section of leash around his stony fist and snatching it up again as it wound around his wrist. I was still dashing forward as the ground broke under his knuckles with a resounding crack.

When you play on the mountainsides, one of the lessons you very quickly learn is the power that momentum and gravity has over all things. The bigger you are, the harder you fall is very true. Especially when you add weight and speed into the mix. It doesn't matter how strong you are, all it can take is one little thing to throw you off balance putting you in a world of hurt. I intended to be that little thing for Treehugger.

You see, the sudowoodo was still charging when he slammed his fist into the ground. I was moving in the opposite direction. I felt the leash tighten and with a scream of exertion through my mouthful of leash, threw my momentum and strength into my pull. Treeboy's bound hand gave a little in my direction, and with him bent over and still moving forward, it was just enough to pull him off balance. Gravity took over after that.

Out of the corner of my good eye, I saw the sudowoodo tumble to the ground, his startled shriek echoing in my ears. The little surge of victory I felt was short lived though, as recoil took effect a half second later after Sudowoodo went timber. Being a rock type, it's safe to assume he outweighed me by like a ton. As he flew forward, I went backward and landed heavily on my back.

I sprang to my feet and stalked my fallen foe warily, panting, body shaking with fatigue and fear. The sudowoodo lay groaning, face down in a heap, his arm twisted under him. I debated diving in and making sure Flower Child stayed down, but I was sure I hadn't knocked him out with that fall. The last thing I wanted to do was try to kick the jerk when he was down and really pissed off. Sure enough, he rolled over with a gravelly moan and was back on his feet.

Though he still looked like he wanted to murder me, the fall must have done him (and maybe me), some good. He wasn't in a blind rage anymore, just mostly blind from the sand. As we circled each other I tried for diplomacy again.

"Look, maybe I was a little bit rude."

"Yes," Sudowoodo said curtly and his head snapped to where my voice had come from as though zeroing in on me. I gulped and kept moving.

"But maybe we're being a little too hasty. You've seen how I can't get away from you and you're really strong," I pressed the "strong" comment. Flattery couldn't hurt.

"Yes," Sudowoodo said again obviously not buying it. I was never good at flattery anyway.

"So...so maybe we can help each other out. Try ripping the section of leash off you. If you manage to break it, I leave, you go back to...playing pretend or whatever and we never see each other again. That sound good?"

Treeboy had scraped enough dirt out of his eyes and fixed me with a hard and furious stare. My stomach turned into ice water.

"That was good trick you did." He said in a low voice.

"Huh?" I responded. I'm so witty it hurts sometimes.

"Me try now!"

I only had time to utter a surprised yelp as the sudowoodo pulled back insanely hard on his handful of leash. My paws left the ground and I hurtled unbidden towards him. My scream was cut short as the sudowoodo drove his fist deep into my gut in a vicious uppercut. I felt a few ribs snap and my eyes threatened to come out of their sockets.

I don't remember falling, though that might have been a blessing since I was in enough pain as it was. Colors popped in my vision as blackness swam in the corners. It felt as though my insides had been shoved into my throat. I gagged trying to puke and breathe at the same time. The need to breathe finally won out and I took a ragged, gurgling breath. It was agony just to breathe. I coughed and my mouth filled with a bitter, metallic mixture of blood and bile that oozed down my chin. As I struggled to breathe, my brain went into hysterics.

_"Get up Corin! He's going to hit you again! Get up!"_ My brain screamed sending the rest of my body into full panic mode. My limbs tried to respond-tried to push myself up. My body twitched in response, it was all I could manage. I gave a gurgled groan as Tree Boy's heavy foot stomped down next to my face.

"You go squish now. Bye fuzzy thing." The sudowoodo raised his foot, intent on bringing it down on my head this time. If I could, I would have screamed in fear and frustration. Instead, I just tensed. Waiting for the sudden, crushing pressure, then nothing.

"Bud!" A voice breathless and tinny rang out, "Absorb now!"

I could hear a humming, pulse of power and then Flower Child let out an angry, pained scream. I managed to loll my head in the direction of the source of power. It was the budew I had insulted earlier. The sudowoodo's back was arched in pain, his foot still in the air. The air seemed to pop with energy that flowed from the budew and back to him. It may have been my imagination, but it looked as though the budew was growing by a few degrees.

The sudowoodo staggered backwards and I felt the leash tighten. I made another attempt to get up. I managed to push myself up back onto my haunches. Cindy was the source of the shout. She had her hands on her knees and was panting heavily. She must have been running flat out to catch up to us. I think I would have been glad to see them if I wasn't busy retching my guts out.

Flower Child came at the budew in earnest now, swinging recklessly. The little grass pokemon dodged him so smoothly it looked as though he swayed and danced to the frenzied pace of the battle and doing it with a smug look on his face too. Showoff. As the sudowoodo charged like the dumb boulder that he was, I was struggling to keep up with him and failing miserably. So, yet again, I ended up getting whipped around like a deflated balloon. Have I mentioned before how much I really hate leashes?

The budew twirled around each vicious strike while still taking increasingly more energy from his opponent. Through the waves of pain, I felt a spark of hope as the sudowoodo drooped in obvious fatigue. Treeboy's attitude slipped from furious to grim to concerned as the battle wore on. His attacks slowed and his limbs appeared to grow heavier to the point that they started to drag the ground. Ha, not so tough now are ya big guy? Just when it looked like the sudowoodo was about to become firewood, Cindy yelled out over the chaos.

"Bud! Stop!"

_"What? What are you doing Cindy?"_ My scrambled brain managed to string together as I lay crumpled on my side. It was getting easier for me to breathe at least. It went from impossible to take a breath to merely excruciating. The sudowoodo slumped down with an awkward thump, nearly sitting on me in the process. He glared at Cindy as she cautiously approached, the budew (obviously now called "Bud") trotting protectively at her side. Her eyes not leaving the sudowoodo, she bowed politely.

"Oh noble sudowoodo," She said quietly, her voice laced with worry. "I don't want to hurt you," Cindy's voice grew tight and tears lined her eyes. "I just want my friend back. He's hurt. He needs to go to a doctor. I know you're angry, and you have a good reason to be, but please. Please let me take the leash off."

Treeboy glared at her, then down at me.

"She want trick me. She make you slow me down, so she catch me," He grated.

"No..." I croaked, "She's...just...that...oblivious."

"It no work."

"She's...not-" I didn't get to finish. With a grunt of effort, he jumped to his feet and flung a stone at Cindy who screamed and ducked. With her distracted, he whirled around preparing to run for it. My heart stopped. If he ran now, there was no way I could survive another dragging. I'd be ripped to pieces.

Fortunately for me, that was when my ability activated.

We eevees were meant to live in large groups or families. It's probably why we are all born with the Helping Hand ability. If we are ever in a battle together, an enemy's weak points light up. We pass on that info to our partner, and they make those hits count. I never really got to use it much. My mother must have defied the norm when she met my father, and I only rarely used it in play fights with my friends as a kit. Circumstances must have changed the moment the dumb rock tried to attack Cindy with two of us out.

Treeboy was all lit up like a Christmas tree.

Bud jumped in front of Cindy and I could tell he was preparing another Absorb attack. He wouldn't bring down the sudowoodo fast enough before he got away, taking me with him. The only way to fell this tree for keeps was for me to point out his weakest and most vital point.

"Fruitcake!" I rasped, "The knees!"

It was all I could manage through the mouthful of blood and spew. The budew scowled at the name but luckily for me, took my pointer. The sudowoodo ran at top speed. Cindy screamed and dove trying to reach for me before I was pulled away from her. Bud used Absorb just before Flower Child disappeared into the bushes.

The move did it's work. Before I was dragged to my death, Absorb took the strength from the sudowoodo's knees, rendering them useless. Remember what I said about gravity? You would think Treeboy would have learned by now. He went down with a heavy crash and skidded on his face for a foot or two before coming to a stop and laying there like well, a stone.

Cindy slid to her knees, snatched me up and held me close to her. The sudden movement made me cry out in pain. Cindy's hand slipped to my collar and with a simple flick of her thumb, unclipped the leash. Blast humans and their thumbs. She sobbed apologies as she looked me over while the budew toddled over to her side eyeing me with a grin.

"That was an absolutely delightful dance! I do believe I made the right choice throwing in my lot with you. You make things quite lively!"

"Oh go suck a stick..." I growled weakly. I gratefully passed out shortly after that. Cindy's crying ringing in my ears. Bud did have a point though. Things did seem to get interesting whenever I was around. Little did I know things were about to get so interesting, I marvel to this day how I managed to live through it all.

Author's note

My usual apologies for being late. I had to revise this chapter repeatedly. Writing action was a doozy. I hope I was able to keep up with the pace on this one. Next chapter coming soon once I am able to get some sleep. Thanks for waiting!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 Premonitions 

I was running again, desperate to escape the thing that chased me. This nightmare was a familiar one. I would run until my legs would give out and then I would wake up shortly after that. Sometimes, I would be able to hide in the bushes or rocky alcoves the dream would provide. This time, it was different. I could sense that the thing that pursued me seemed excited, as though I was right within it's grasp. And it terrified me.

When I tried to hide, bushes shrank from me, rocky alcoves crumbed away until I was frantic enough to throw myself into a lake. Even that dried up before I could dive in. I screamed for my parents...Cindy...anyone. Suddenly, a wall blacker than Darkrai himself sprang up in front of me. It was too high to climb and too wide to run around, but I tried to anyway whimpering in fear. I felt it there then. Shaking I turned around to face the thing that had been chasing me for years.

I wish I hadn't.

I was looking into an enormous eye. It was once a deep red but now, it was clouded over as a result of decay and disuse. A long clean cut ran down it's middle, the cause of the eye's present appearance no doubt. That was not what horrified me the most though. A dead eye shouldn't be able to focus. Shouldn't be able to express emotion. This eye that stretched over me had me in it's, I kid you not, sight and it's expression was one of hatred and elation. A scream froze in my throat as we locked eyes or in that thing's case, eye.

"You cannot hide from me now," a deep voice boomed so deep it shook me to my very core. "I have finally found you. You may have escaped us once, but not this time. I've found you and we are coming for you!"

"Who...w-who are you?" I managed to choke out.

I didn't expect what happened next. The lake spirt Azelf, appeared right in front of me. It's angry, alarmed emotions coursed through me since it did not appear to show emotion. Without moving it's mouth it sent a message that resounded so sharply through my mind it felt as though I was being slapped.

_"Wake up!"_

I woke with a gasp and tried to sit up.

I immediately regretted it. Pain lanced through my chest and stole the breath from me. I grimaced and my paws clutched at the bandages around my midsection. I had been recuperating at Floaroma for about three days now and since Jubilife, the nightmare had been getting worse. Azelf appearing was a completely new thing. I've never dreamed of the lake spirit before. I barely even thought of the lake guardians besides what I had heard in bedtime stories. I lay back in my bed, an actual one made for tiny things like me while recuperating from emergency surgery at the pokemon center. I guess the sudowoodo who belted me one ruptured an organ or two and busted a lung. Luckily for me, I'm a pokemon and we bounce back rather quickly. Maybe thats one of the reasons humans like us for protection and battling.

With a sigh and brushed the cold sweat from my brow with one paw while rubbing my eyes with the other.

"I really need to go easy on the honey..." I muttered to myself as I stared up at the ceiling.

A flutter of wings made me look over towards the corner of my room. Capistrano shifted from his perch in his sleep before tucking his head back under his wing with a contented sigh. I had to give him credit. Capistrano was a steady friend. He had, (as Sye continually rubbed in my face) refused to leave my side ever since I was brought here from surgery and made sure I (grudgingly) took my potions. Since Floaroma was the hamlet of berries, honey and well...flowers, Cindy had been giving me a steady supply of all three. Yes, even flowers though I didn't understand why she got upset when I ate them. Why else do you send flowers to the sick?

Come morning, I was given a clean bill of health and Cindy was able to come get me. She was warned by the nurse to not have me participate in battles for at least a day or two, and looked glad to see me leave. I did snap at her a few times but that was because she kept poking me in the ribs. Of course it hurt you stupid twit! I sat under a chair in the lobby of the pokemon center, glowering at the nurse as Cindy finished signing some forms and handed the clipboard over. They exchanged polite goodbyes, and the nurse went into the back to file away the papers as Cindy walked over and knelt down next to my chair.

"Corin?" She said her voice quiet.

I turned my head to stare at her. Tears were welling up in her eyes and she hastily brushed them away. Oh great, what did I do this time? I didn't wreck that much medical equipment this time and I wasn't that nasty to the doctors. They only had to give me the happy pills once my entire stay.

Cindy began to cry. "I...I'm so sorry! I should have known that wasn't a bush. I just didn't know a sudowoodo could come up this far! Thats not an excuse though. You got beat up because of me! Corin, I promise I wont let this happen again! From now on no more leash. C-can you forgive me?"

She put out her hand and reached under the chair. My wild side recoiled from her a little. That same part told me to bite her hand, but I stopped myself. It looked as though she was almost expecting me to bite her, as if she deserved it. She did have a point. If she hadn't lashed me to Treeboy, I wouldn't have wound up spending a few days in a sterile smelling pokemon center. I couldn't bite her though. Like Capistrano, I realized she was still very new to the whole "world discovery" thing and I guess I didn't have to go shoot my mouth off at a rock pokemon I happened to be tied to.

Her promise to not use the leash anymore may also have something to do with my decision too. Okay. It played a big part in what I did next.

So I'm not wise and mature. Sue me.

"No leash is a good leash," I muttered. I let her scratch me behind the ear and since I knew she couldn't understand me, I showed her I had no hard feelings by giving her a quick lick on the hand. Yuck. Humans taste disgusting by the way.

Cindy flinched and pulled her hand back looking for a bite mark. When she saw I didn't chomp down, she wailed and scooped me up burying her face in my collar as she hugged me.  
"Thank you!" She sobbed, "Thank you Corin!"

"Don't mention it," I squeaked as she squeezed my tender midsection. I could hear snickers echoing in my head. "Especially you Brainiac! Don't you ever mention this to anybody or you're dead!"

Of course he blabbed to everybody about what I did right after we walked out of the pokemon center, because when she let everyone out to enjoy the fresh air and stretch their legs, they all crowded around me. They ruffled my fur affectionately and welcomed me to the group much to my dislike. Except for Felicity who flicked her tail and pretended I didn't exist, which was fine by me. Sye patted me in a way that I was certain was a form of mockery. Jerk.

It was a shame really. Even though I liked Capistrano and thought Cindy was nice, I didn't want to get too attached to them and though I tried my best to keep them from getting attached to me, they still latched on to me anyway. I couldn't possibly figure out why. Oh well. It would be their problem once I left for good.

Floaroma town was beautiful. With hills bursting with flowers of all sizes and shapes and blazing with all colors imaginable. The air was clean, crisp, and the scent of the flowers soothed the pains of body, mind and heart. The livelihood of the town was slower paced as if no one was in a flurry to get anywhere and people and pokemon passed each other with knowing smiles as if they all knew one another. The sky hummed with combee as they flitted from flower to flower. Methodically collecting the pollen they would need to make their honey. Though even the combee didn't seem as if they needed to hurry. I could see why. Floaroma town was a place of plenty and then some.

Small wonder why I got bored silly within the first hour I was outside.

Felicity was sprawled out lazily snoozing among the flowers in the sun. This place seemed to melt years off of her though I wouldn't have ever told her that to her face. Bud, the newest pokemon to join the team, was trying to teach Capistrano some new dance moves without much success. It didn't seem to stop Capistrano from trying though and he twittered in laughter as he toppled back on his tail feathers again for the hundredth time. Sye and Cindy were settled under the shady embrace of a large tree. Cindy with careful deliberation picked a flower out of a bundle that she had gathered and held it out for Sye. Sye telekinetically plucked it out of her hand, and wove it into what was beginning to look like a large floral wreath that floated before them.

I yawned and stared out from my spot at the exit of the western part of the town. The path beyond the sleepy settlement seemed to hum with an energy of it's own that sparked (pardon the pun) my curiosity. With another yawn I rose and stretched gingerly before taking some steps out of Floaroma. I chanced a quick glance back. Cindy had paused, a gracidea flower between her fingers. Her eyes were lined with worry and she looked as though she were about to rise. Sye's eyes narrowed and blazed blue. I set my jaw and took another step. Before I could go any further, Sye had teleported in front of me. My fur bristled and I growled as I felt him gather power intent on weaving me into the floral wreath that was still floating in the air near Cindy.

"Let him go Sye."

We both looked back toward Cindy in surprise. Sye was so surprised that his concentration wavered and he dropped the wreath. Cindy had settled back down and brushed her fingertips lightly across the gracidea flower's petals. She still had a worried expression on her face but when she spoke again it was decisive.

"Be careful Corin. Be back by sundown please. We will be leaving early tomorrow."

She was letting me go? Off on my own? Either the perfume of the flowers had gotten to her head or she was putting more trust in me than I thought I deserved. Sye turned back to me clearly unhappy with Cindy's decision but reluctantly stepped aside.

_"You better not keep us waiting Corin."_ He warned me telepathically, eyes flashing angrily.

I walked past him smugly, brushing the tip of my tail under his nose. _"Yes, mom. You can go back to your basket weaving now."_

I could practically taste the anger radiating off him as I thought that at him but he did nothing about it. I'm sure if Cindy hadn't have been there, things would have been different otherwise. It was a pity that Cindy was there. Maybe someday me and Brainiac would be alone together long enough to have a proper throw down but for now, we would both just have to settle with glaring daggers at each other.

_"Don't even think about trying to escape Corin..."_ Sye's voice reverberated in my head, as I left Floaroma's boundaries._"Remember. We still have your pokeball."_

I pictured tossing Sye into a meat grinder and the voice promptly went silent. I was beginning to get very creative when it came to getting rid of him.

As much as I disliked change I can't stand being in a place with absolutely no action. Maybe that is why the city of Jubilife appealed to me. The city had a life of it's own, a kind of pulse brought on by the bustling of people and pokemon that formed a heart beat of sorts. There is never a dull moment in the city and plenty of opportunities to have a little fun along the way. I recognized the hum outside Floaroma. It was the same hum given off by the city that would often course across my body as I lay in my den and soothe me to sleep.

It was the thrum of electricity.

As I trotted down the path, the flowers grew scarce and the ground more smooth brought on by the tramping of thousands of feet and paws. I came across a bridge that passed over a lazy stream. I debated crossing it and had gotten halfway over when my nose picked up the scent of people in the distance. My ears detected far off shouts and cries of people and pokemon as well as the crashing sounds of battle.

Trainers testing their skills against one another. Suck a stick.

I turned and started back across the bridge from where I came, muttering curses under my breath. I wasn't going that way. I wasn't in the mood to get mistaken as a wild pokemon and mobbed by overeager trainers and their one-trick ponyta lackeys. I had almost made it when I heard a splash on the right side of the bridge.

Without thinking, I padded over to investigate. As I looked over the edge, I saw nothing out of the ordinary. Just tiny waves and ripples as the slow current carried the stream to here, there and everywhere. Suddenly, the surface exploded in a spray of water as a form too quick for me to make out, leapt out of the stream right at me. I yelped and staggered backward across the width of the bridge not realizing that I was quickly running out of solid ground until my back legs slipped off the edge. I scrabbled at the planks of the bridge with my front paws in a futile attempt to stay on before slipping off the edge with a cry.

There was a splash, the muffled sensation of being underwater and the shock of cold enveloping my entire body all at once. I wound up face to face with a bunch of curious magikarp that stared at me with vacant expressions on their faces.

"Beat it," I tried to growl. Under the water though, it just came out as bubbles. The fish pokemon simply stared blankly back at me.

I shook my head and kicked up to the surface. I broke the surface with a gasp to hear laughter ringing down from the bridge. I couldn't see the top of the bridge from where I was, so I shook the water out of my ears with a snarl and dog-paddled to shore. I knew it was a pokemon. The laughter was too high and squeaky to be human.

I clambered back onto the bridge, still dripping wet with a furious smile on my face.

"Who's that pokemon?" I sang with malicious glee, eager to pound the joker into the ground.

My challenge didn't get the desired effect. The pokemon collapsed in a fit of laughter when she saw me. She was only slightly bigger than me and had a lithe, streamlined body with a vibrant orange fur coat that told me she was comfortable in the water. Her neck had some sort of bright yellow collar around it that looked like it was buoyant. Her stomach and jowls were splashed with fur the color of cream and as she laughed, I could see a row of needle sharp teeth. Her paws, which she held to her belly as she doubled over in mirth had royal blue fins protruding from them and her tail appeared to split into two. I also noticed that when she laughed, her chest and belly curved in a way that was quite pleasing in spite of my anger.

Hey. I notice these things. So what?

I still had no idea what she was except that she was a water type pokemon. Super genius, thats me remember? I sat down sourly and glared.

"Ha ha. Funny. You done yet?"

She took a few breaths and her laughter twittered down to snickers as she looked at me again.

"You're a lot scrawnier than you look," She said through lidded eyes and with a smirk that played across her face.

I had a million different things I wanted to say to her. Some were "Buzz off. Get lost," and "I will pulverize you now." The others were, "What are you doing tonight?" and "Aren't _you_ a good looking piece of tail?"

What came out of me instead was "Uh... what?"

Yeah... Smooth Corin... You're a real Casanova.

The water pokemon appeared to have noticed something in her left fin and delicately started picking it out with her paws. "What are you doing all the way out here? Are you lost? 'Cause I can't really help you unless you're drowning or something."

I shook my head to get it clear. "I'm not lost and I'm just taking a walk. What are you doing out here? Trying to drown pokemon so you'll have an excuse to save them?"

"I'm a buizel," She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I live around water?" She said that as if she was really saying,_"duh."_

I looked past her, across the bridge and into the distance. "You live this close to that electrical currant? Don't you water types not like electricity?"

"I don't live here. I'm looking for someone." She said peering at me intently. Her eyes were fierce, intelligent, confident and distracting as all get out. It made me really uncomfortable.

"Trainer?" I asked.

"Pokemon." She replied and slid in close to me. "About your height, your weight, your type."

I swallowed. "So uh...wanna go somewhere more private then?"

She blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Or are you more comfortable in the water? 'Cause I'm not picky."

"What are you talking about?"

"This is a proposition right?" I said confused.

Her reaction wasn't what I expected. She slapped me across the face with a quick attack so hard I tumbled over backwards and nearly fell back into the water again.

"HOW DARE YOU!? Y-you think that I would... that I could possibly.." She sputtered outraged.

I sat up rubbing my jaw and dabbing at my nose. "Hey! You made a pass at me first sweetheart!"

"I said I was looking for someone that looked like you, not that I was looking to get lucky! Besides, I'm not that desperate to want someone like you!"

"Thats 'cause you don't know a good thing when you see it honey," I sneered.

"You're full of yourself," the buizel sniffed.

"Oh go jump off a bridge," I snapped.

She turned to the edge of the bridge and shot me a glare. "Thats what I was going to do anyway. Not very clever are you?"

With that, she dove off and disappeared. I grumbled to myself and hopped off the bridge heading in the direction of the humming electricity.

"Females..." I snorted.

It turned out the source of the electricity was a power plant. It was simple and small in design for human standards. The most impressive thing about the place though was the massive windmills that turned in the wind giving the plant it's power. This was a great place for the wind mills. Nestled near the base of Mt. Coronet, the wind was very prominent.

"Satisfied?" huffed a familiar voice.

I rolled my eyes and turned my head back over my shoulder to look at the buizel behind me.

"Don't you have better things to do? Like broadcast your mixed signals over a T.V station? I think they have a reality show like that in Jublife."

She snorted. "As much as I want to, I can't possibly in good conscience leave your injured, scrawny hide out here. You can't even take care of yourself."

I turned around growling. "Says miss ice princess? What do you think you're gonna do? Protect me if something nasty comes along?"

"Precisely." She said.

I started laughing. "Uh huh. Yeah. I feel real safe knowing you're around. For your information Swiss Miss, I don't need your help or your so-called "protection."

"We'll see." She smiled and glanced pointedly past me.

I didn't like the way she said that. I whirled ready to face anyone who might be about to hit me from behind. There was something there, but it just made me mad for getting worked up over nothing.

It was a purple balloon.

I dissolved into a fit of laughter. "Oh no," I cried raising my paws to my face in mock fear. "Not the evil balloon! I heard their static shocks are so painful!"

The buizel didn't respond. She just sat there, her smile unwavering. Eerie. My laughter subsided.

"It's just a balloon. Nothing dangerous about it."

She shrugged smile still not fading.

"Okay. Fine!" I said stalking toward the inflated child's plaything. "I'll pop the big bad balloon and prove it to you."

I didn't think her smile could get any wider, but it did. I muttered my breath as I prepared to pounce on the purple balloon.

"Take it easy Corin. She's just trying to psyche you out. Theres nothing out of the ordinary here," I told myself. I still felt uneasy, though I couldn't figure out why. I leapt for the floating toy intent on turning it to rubber shreds. I kept going. Right through it.

I was so shocked I forgot to land properly and wound up landing on my face.

"Ow..." I muttered, sitting up and rubbing my nose. I looked back at the thing I was supposed to destroy. The balloon had a face. Or at least, some kind of face. Where it's mouth was, there was a bright yellow "X" on it. As though it looked like tape had been used to cover up a possible puncture. It had a wispy white mop of fluff on top of it's head that hadn't been there before I attacked. Finally, it had tiny black eyes. The eyes were the first thing I noticed about this creature.

Because they were staring right at me.

"Um...hello." I said, "Sorry about that. I'm sure you get this a lot, but I thought you were a balloon at first."

The thing blinked it's tiny eyes. "I am a balloon," It said. It's voice was airy, melancholy like a sigh in the wind. "My boy was playing with me and my string snapped. I flew up...up... it got cold. Now I am here."

"There's no point talking to it Corin," the buizel said. Her smile was gone now. "It's a drifloon. A shade of it's former self."

My head snapped from the drifloon back to her. "Wait a minute. You're saying that this is a _ghost_ pokemon, and you didn't bother to bring this up until now?"

Ghost type pokemon were bad news. I met plenty on my travels over Mt. Coronet and I've found that I don't like them very much. There are two types of ghosts really. There is the type of ghosts that are in denial, _"Dead? No, I'm not dead. You must be mistaken. Maybe you should check yourself into a mental institution."_

Then, there is the type of ghost that knows they are dead, so mad about it that they can just spit, and will take it out on the first thing they see. If you run into a ghost hope, it's the former, not the latter. Ghosts are also very touchy. It might be because their emotions are all they have left of what they once were in their mortal state.

Ghosts are also slightly creepy. Okay, they're really creepy.

I was in trouble. Not because ghosts freak me out, (because they don't. Okay, maybe a little.) I was in trouble because when it came down to a battle, I can't beat them. I literally can't land a hit on the stupid things. The positive thing is, is that they usually couldn't hit me either. Ghost based attacks went right through me, but what it the point of a battle if you're at a stalemate?

"You sure you don't need my help?" The buizel grinned.

Stupid female. She set me up for this, and I had fallen for it hook, line and sinker. Well, there was no way I was going to let her come to my rescue. I could handle this myself.

"Suck a stick." I snapped at her.

She shrugged again and sat back to watch the show.

"Have you seen my boy?" The drifloon asked sadly.

I started to back away slowly. "Can't say I have. If you hang around, maybe he'll find you."

It floated over to me faster than I had liked and stared at me intensely. "I'm so lonely. Will you play with me until my boy comes back?"

A shiver went down my spine. I knew better than to accept that offer. Playing with ghosts usually resulted in you disappearing for good.

"Love to, but can't. The sun's about to go down and I have to head home."

"Where is home?" the drifloon moaned. "Is there a child? Could that child be my boy?"

"Nope no boy there."

"A girl then?"

"Look," I said getting annoyed. "I can't play all right? I need to leave now." I turned away from the drifloon and began walking. The fur on the back of my neck stood up as I felt the drifloon whispering down it.

"I'll follow you then. Maybe your girl will play with me."

I whirled teeth bared. "You leave Cindy alone you pint-sized bag of hot air!"

"Then play with me," The drifloon whined. "Or, I will play with Cindy and you will never see her again."

"Fair enough." I quipped and lunged.

I was expecting the attack to do nothing this time so I landed properly on my feet and spun to face my opponent. The drifloon laughed and vanished.

Have you ever heard a ghost laugh? If you haven't you're not missing anything. They are some of the best around when it comes to spooky laughs.

I was about to shout out a challenge when the drifloon reappeared to my right and took in a deep breath. I was able to turn my body toward the drifloon just in time. It blew out a blast of wind so sharply that if I had still been turned sideways, I would have been blown head over tail. Instead I was blown backward a few inches so that I was knocked off balance. I fell heavily on my injured stomach and cried out in pain curling myself into a ball on the ground.

The drifloon dove at me with a shriek, it's body becoming a noxious haze of purple smog. It was preparing some kind of ghost attack, of that I was certain. I was happy to take advantage of the drifloon's mistake. As it went right through me, I let it have a face full of sand which of course did nothing. Neither of us took damage, but the dust cloud I kicked up was meant for another purpose. It was meant to be a distraction.

While the bag of hot air was busy scanning through the dust for me, I was already running full speed toward the water. If I could get to the water and dive before I was noticed, I could lose the drifloon and make my escape. I neared the shore and took a flying leap sucking in a deep breath in preparation for hiding under water. I felt something wrap itself around my ankles and bring me up short. I fell with a big whoof of air and looked back to see the drifloon wasn't fooled. It had my ankles looped in it's stringy hands and it's strands were getting longer by the second.

I scrabbled with my front paws to pull away from the drifloon, but one more strand looped itself around my chest. Another wrapped around my right armpit. One went around my tender middle. The last one got my left paw and swept it out from under me. I went down hard.

"I got you," it crowed as it started to drag me backwards. "Now you can come with me. I'll take you to a place where we can play forever and I'll never be lonely again."

I struggled madly against the drifloons' grip. It may have held me fast but it wasn't that strong. If I could get my back legs free, I might be able to shake the gas bag off. It frowned at my efforts to escape.

"Stop trying to get away." It pouted and squeezed drawing a pained scream from me as it tightened around my middle. "I caught you. Now you have to come with me."

Suddenly, the buizel ahead of me stood, brushing the grass from her shapely backside. Yeah. Even though I was in danger of spending eternity with a morose bag of gas, I still noticed. She stepped forward after shooting me a withering glance. She must have guessed what I was thinking. Girls have a sort of sixth sense for that.

"I've seen enough," she sighed.

The drifloon looked up and appeared to notice her for the first time. It didn't look happy to see her.

"Go away," It hissed. "We're playing."

"Playtime's over," the buizel growled. "Let the eevee go."

The drifloon's eyes blazed with a eerie light. "Don't make me play with you too little female."

"Aww but you hurt my feelings. I wanna play too," she replied and before the drifloon could react, she shot it directly in the face with a water gun attack.

The coils I was wrapped in instantly retracted as the drifloon was blasted backward. It shook the water out of it's eyes.

"No fair!" It gurgled as it spat water out of its mouth, "You're not allowed t-"

It never finished what it had to say. The buizel shot it again with another spray of water. It coughed and sputtered before looking at us again with a mixture of hatred and sadness.

"You guys play too rough. I'm gonna tell on you!" It wailed and with that, it disappeared in a puff of smog.

"Ghosts..." I grumbled as I staggered to my feet.

The buizel stomped forward and pushed me back onto my haunches. I glared at her angrily but she seemed to ignore me.

"Just as I thought. You can't even take care of yourself."  
"I was doing just fine!" I shot back, "It wasn't like I was looking for a fight in the first place!"

"Yeah, I could see that. The way that drifloon had you wrapped up like a present. You had it completely at your mercy." The buizel scoffed.

"Whats it to you anyway huh?" I snapped, "What are you doing around here besides trying to get me killed?"

She fixed me with a serious gaze. All mirth and anger melted from her face.

"Uxie visited me in a dream," she said. "I was sent here to protect you."

Authors note

I have a confession to make. I could have added this chapter yesterday which was Thursday my time, but I decided to wait until Friday for obvious reasons. I did it and I'm glad glad I tells ya muah ha ha ha ha haaa! But in all seriousness, thank you for your patience.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 The Gang's All Here

"Uxie huh?" I said giving the buizel the best flat stare I could manage.

She caught on to my disbelief rather fast. "It's the truth."

"Uh huh."

"Look. Why else would I be here?"

I grinned. "Maybe because you're shy about asking me out."

"Oh please." She spat.

"So you come up with this ridiculous story about being my bodyguard," I continued. "Well, good for you pumpkin. You saved the day. Congratulations. Now why don't you go home and get a medal of honor from-I dunno. _Mewtwo_ or something. I'll be a good boy from now on and make sure to eat all my berries."

She let out an exasperated growl. "Look. This whole thing isn't all about you okay? Wait. Thats not...completely true, but the point is. I know what I saw and I'm not about to ignore an order from a lake spirit."

I shouldered past her contemptuously. "You should try ignoring things sometime. Just like what I'm doing to you right now. It'll save you a lot of headaches in the future," I shot her a glare over my shoulder. "Don't follow me. You do and I'll turn you inside out."

With that, I left her there.

My muscles were as tight as a drawn violin string. I was certain that she would ignore my warning and follow me, forcing me to make good on my threat. The last thing I wanted was to bring an obviously insane pokemon back with me. It would just be ridiculously awkward. Oh yeah, and potentially dangerous. The buizel, in accordance to "fulfilling her duty," might see Cindy as an obstacle and try to "liberate" me. That would probably get Cindy into trouble when the poor kid hadn't done anything to deserve it. I try to make it a point not to drag anyone into my own messes thank you.

Not to mention how embarrassing it would be if I was rescued by the crazy female before I could free myself.

I chanced a look back, teeth bared, ready to whirl around and charge if she had so much as taken a step in my direction. She hadn't which was, admittedly... unnerving. That grin she had given me earlier when she was toying with me was back, adding one more layer to her whole creepy vibe.

"I'll see you later then," She said in a voice so low, it was almost a whisper. She turned, dove back into the water and was gone.

"Sheesh. She could give Duskulls lessons on spooky," I muttered.

The sky was bruised with the ebbing colors of twilight by the time I got back to Floaroma. I was weary, aching and still soaking wet from my little unexpected swim. I was looking forward to a good meal and soft bed. Sye was waiting for me at the entrance scowling.

_"You're late,"_ His voice brushed across my mind as well as surges of annoyance.

"Relax, Brainiac," I said out loud to him. "I'm back now."

_"Do. Not. Call. Me. That,"_ each word that went across my mind felt like a literal jab in my head. I tried not to wince, but I must have given something away because I felt a wave of satisfaction pass through me.

_"Be grateful that we did not resort to searching for you. Because if we did..."_ He left that threat hanging as though trying to intimidate me. It only made me mad. And well, I do stupid things when I'm mad. Like confront a fully rested pokemon that is looking for an excuse to turn my brain into mush while I am tired and injured for example.

"What huh?" I challenged staring him straight in the eyes, "What would you do? Slap me on the paw and tell me, "no, no, no, bad eevee?" You're all talk and mind games! Either put up or shut up!"

I could feel the pressure building behind his eyes. That incredible power that was just begging to be released. It was a little scary to tell you honestly. I could only imagine what bloody tatters my mind would have been reduced to if he had given into the urge to fight. I held my ground, trying not to take notice of the little flutter of fear that bounced around in my injured stomach. Through more will power than I give him credit for, Sye resisted the urge to throw the first psychic punch.

_"When I first met you, I knew you were nothing but trouble,"_ Sye's telepathic words were icy and pricked my mind like so many pins and needles. _"I will never fathom what Cindy sees in you. Trouble is all you are and it is all you will eve-"_

He stopped abruptly and his blazing eyes dulled. He glanced over my shoulder, his face registering confusion. I didn't want to turn around. I had a sinking feeling I knew what or who was behind me. I did it anyway, and of course. There she was. The buizel who had appointed herself as my protector. What she needed to guard was the nearest hospital. Preferably one with padded walls and nice men in white coats.

Her mouth was turned upward most attractively in a satisfied smirk. "I can see you behave in the same charming manner with your teammates as you do with strangers. Nice to see you don't change."

"I don't like change," I said turning around with a bubbling growl. "And I thought I told you not to follow me!"

"Or what would you do exactly? Oh yes. Turn me inside out," She laughed. "You aren't very threatening. We both know you're in no shape to fight right now. Especially after that rather embarrassing battle at the lake wouldn't you say?"

_"Corin. Who is this pokemon?"_ Asked Sye, who still looked slightly confused.

"She's a lunatic who doesn't know the meaning of the phrase "Leave me alone," I said out loud to Sye and to insult the female. I hated to admit it, but she was right. My bandages were soaked and were starting to slide loose, my sides felt like they were on fire and my head was pounding mercilessly.

The buizel chuckled amused. "_I'm_ a lunatic? Speak for yourself."

Sye's eyes abruptly flashed at her and he said something to her telepathically. Instead of being creeped out as I had been when he talked to me like that, she laughed again. It was a chilling laugh that sent shivers unbidden down my spine.

"You're pretty rude to not tell him I was coming Corin. Or, why I am here to begin with," she purred.

"Thats because I don't need protection!" I snapped.

"If I hadn't come along you would be in the underworld by now," she growled.

"I had it under control!" I growled back and taking a step toward her.

"Oh yes. Getting blown over with a puff of wind. _And_ hitting a ghost type with a completely ineffective move? That sure was a spark of genius."

"Go suck a stick."

"Charming."

A flash of light interrupted our little spat and forced us to shield out eyes. It had come from Sye. His baffled emotions rolled across the both of us and when he spoke, we must have both heard him since we cringed simultaneously.

_"Will one of you PLEASE explain what is going on here?"_

The buizel and I both launched into an explanation at the same time. Trying to tell our own renditions. Sye merely sat back completely perplexed. I don't blame the guy really. He sat that way silent until we finished.

"-Why I told him I was sent to protect him."

"-Why she's decided to stalk me now!"

_"Enough!"_ Sye said to us both as he shook his head. He looked at me and uttered a condescending snort. _"It's utterly typical of you Corin, to jump into a fight without knowing what you were up against. And you,"_ He turned to the buizel. _"We cannot have you simply following Corin around. You will have to leave or-"_

"Or nothing!" I interrupted, "You need to go now. Don't let the door hit you in the tails on the way out."

_"You may attempt to join our team,"_ Sye continued after shooting me a warning glare.

"Team huh? Like, have a trainer yell commands and battle?" The buizel mused scratching her chin.

"She's a terrible trainer," I said desperately. "Look at what's happened to me! You don't want that happening to you do you?

The buizel smirked, "If it means I get to properly follow Corin around and keep him out of trouble, I think I can live with that."

A slow smile crept across Sye's face, _"Let me introduce you to Cindy then."_

I let out an angry groan of protest but both pokemon ignored me as they turned and headed back into town. All I could do was follow sullenly. I wanted to attack her, drive her away before she was recruited by Cindy, but now she had Sye in on her sick little joke and it looked like he would go along with any plan as long as it ruined my day. Big fat jerk.

I grumbled all the way back to the small house a couple was letting Cindy stay at. She was sitting on the polished wooden porch whistling in harmony with Capistrano while Bud twirled around them merrily. Felicity was taking time out of her busy nap schedule to groom herself but paused mid-lick to eye me disdainfully. Cindy smiled and leapt down from the porch to gather us all up in a big hug. The buizel dodged her and looked at the girl glowering.

"Welcome back Sye!" Cindy bubbled as she hugged him. He returned the hug energetically. I squirmed in her arms as I was pressed closer to Sye than I wanted to be. Cindy put Sye down and held me out in front of her, her hands under my armpits.

"Did you like you walk Corin?" Cindy said happily before she frowned, "Oh no. You're soaking wet and your bandages are loose. Did you go for a swim?"

I flattened my ears and growled at her. My little way of warning her to put me down or she was going to lose a finger. Instead of releasing me though, she said. "Hold still Corin, this won't hurt a bit."

I snarled indignantly as she pinned my head down with her knee. She dragged her pack closer to her and pulled out some clean bandages as I struggled uselessly against her and screamed things about humans that I wont repeat here. Bud, Sye and Felicity laughed at my humiliation while Capistrano fluttered around nervously. The buizel? She was rolling around on the grass laughing her head off.

As Cindy changed my bandages she seemed to finally take notice of the buizel. "Oh! Is this your friend Corin?" She gasped, "Corin...did...did you bring back a girlfriend?" She pulled the bandages tight and let me up.

"No!" I screamed, "She is NOT my girlfriend!"

That just seemed to make everyone laugh harder. Yeah yeah. Yuk it up you spoink-faced morons.

The buizel rolled her eyes and strode forward looking fearlessly up at Cindy. It seemed as though she could evaluate Cindy's capabilities as a trainer just by looking at her. To my surprise, Cindy took a small step backward from the little water pokemon. How could she have possibly managed to intimidate the girl when all my snarling and snapping only got me cuddles and coos? I had no idea. Maybe it was a girl thing.

Cindy tightened her jaw, took and took a deep breath, "D-do you want to join?"

The buizel gave her warbling cry in response and spun her tails rapidly. I glared at her suspiciously, a low growl in my throat. The buizel was up to something I just knew it. At least I wasn't the only one who thought things were fishy.

All of us were watching the buizel intently.

Cindy nodded and pulled out a pokeball. "Okay. We have room for another friend," she sent the pokeball whizzing toward the buizel.

Quicker than I had thought possible, the buizel spun on her heels and with her tails hit the airborne pokeball with a resounding CRACK! The shattered remains of the ball flew back at Cindy. With a startled cry, she threw her arms up to keep the jagged pieces from slashing her face. All of us were at her side in an instant growling, hissing, twittering and what ever grass type pokemon did to sound threatening. Shake their leaves menacingly? I don't know.

A wry grin spread across the buizel's face. "Did you really think it was going to be that easy? I wanna see what you all got!"

"Well, you just got it sister!" I snarled, taking a step forward.

"Corin! Step back!"

The command from Cindy was so sharp and clear that I hadn't realized until later that I had obeyed her without question. Cindy stepped up, no longer intimidated and returned the buizel's smile.

"All right. It's a battle then! Lets go!"

Author's note:

So here's how this chapter went. Wrote a bit, got stuck, stopped writing, pondered for a bit, wrote a little more, got hit with bad writer's block, took a step back, screamed in frustration, wept silently in a corner, realized I was being stupid. Finally, everything hit me in the middle of the night when I was trying to sleep. I finished right about now and I hope I don't run into any more blocks like that again. I mean, I do know the major plot points in my story. It was just getting to those points that seemed to be troubling me. Anyway, thank you as always for your patience.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 Treacle

The buizel leapt backward and crouched as Cindy pointed.

"Capistrano! Go!"

The starly immediately took to the air and the battle began. She's testing that buizel... Trying to figure out her strengths. Smart," I thought to myself. Bud or Felicity would have had a type advantage over the water pokemon, but the buizel had proven to me already that she was more than what she seemed.

"Capistrano! Wing attack!" Cindy commanded.

Capistrano dropped from the sky folding his wings in tight to his body to gain maximum speed. It was incredible to watch and I had to give him credit. He had certainly grown since we left Jubilife. He came out of his dive mere inches from the ground hurtling at his opponent. At the speed he was going, getting clipped by his wings was sure to pack a wallop.

Unfortunately, he just wasn't fast enough.

The buizel leapt as Capistrano closed in, hurtling over him and twisting lithely in midair. She almost made it look effortless. Capistrano's risky maneuver had cost him dearly. He immediately realized his back was open to her and tried to pull out of his dive, but it was too late. She opened up with a vicious blast of water that hit Capistrano right in the back. Unable to regain control from the water gun attack, he tumbled across the ground. I heard Cindy suck in a breath through her teeth before shouting.

"Get up Capistrano! You can do it!"

He flopped back to his claws and staggered. The crash had hurt him more than the buizel's attack, but it was something the water pokemon was going to take advantage of. She charged, her movements blurred. I couldn't see what was happening, but apparently Cindy had seen this before because she shouted.

"Capistrano! Counter her quick attack with yours now!"

Capistrano blurred, and when both combatants met, I had only a split second to watch as Capistrano caught the buizel right between the eyes with his beak. The buizel screeched in pain and staggered away. Ha! Take that sweetheart!

"Now! Tackle her Capistrano!" Cindy yelled.

He dove for her in a full body attack but she feinted around him and let loose another spray of water. Capistrano rolled under the blast and he was suddenly forced on the defensive as she let loose one water gun attack after another. Capistrano was starting to tire rapidly and though he bravely dodged her attack while scanning for an opening, she just wasn't giving him any. I knew it was only a matter of time before he would get nailed. Cindy could see this too because she thrust out his pokeball.

"Very good Capistrano! Return!"

I've never seen a pokemon recalled before that moment. A red beam of light jutted from Capistrano's pokeball and hit the bird. Before he...well...dematerialized, he had just enough time to look relieved, if a little disappointed. The beam shrank back into the ball and I shivered uncomfortably. The idea of willingly going into one of those things simply freaked me out.

"Next victim!" The buizel crowed. Besides the welt that was swelling on her forehead, she still looked like there was plenty of fight left in her. Cindy looked back at us as though calculating who should challenge the female next. She must have wanted to end this quickly because she pointed at Felicity.

"Okay Felicity! Your turn! Go get her!"

I would like to say that the luxio bounded forward into battle. I would love to say Felicity wiped the malicious smile off the buizel's face with a single discharge attack. Sadly, none of these things happened.

Felicity stared at Cindy lazily and yawned. Instead of obeying Cindy, she turned her back on her and sauntered away.

"Hey!" I yelled, "What do you think you're doing you old zubat!? Get back here and fight!"

"This battle is beneath me," Felicity replied languidly.

"But Cindy is your trainer!" I protested.

"Wrong. Gina is my trainer. I am just along for the ride. If Cindy wants my respect, she will have to earn it like Gina before her."

After that, Felicity disappeared behind the house.

"You coward!" I screamed.

Cindy pursed her lips after Felicity.

"She must not be feeling very good," She said, more to herself than to anyone else. "Okay! Get out there Bud! It's your turn now!"

Bud didn't need any coaxing. He leapt nimbly out to face the buizel who, while Felicity was busy walking away from the fight, had packed a patch of mud and grass on her welt.

"Hello my dear," Bud smiled. "Care to dance?"

The buizel looked over Bud and at me. "Is tulips here for real?" She asked incredulously.

"Unfortunately," I grumbled.

Bud sighed and even managed to make that sound graceful. "Ah me," he sang. "Yet another that does not understand. Life is dance! A battle is a dance! Two combatants whirling, twisting, testing one another's strengths, pushing one another to new dizzying heights until their hearts beat as one! A battle my sweet is one of the most intimate dances one can possibly hope to be a part of."

"Hey. What do you mean by intimate fruitcake?" I demanded.

Not turning around, Bud sniffed. "I could never expect a brute like you to understand."

"I understand perfectly," the buizel said flatly. "Lemme get things started." She shot a stream of water right at Bud and hit him squarely in his yellow bib. Bud had to twist himself to keep him from being knocked off balance, but it looked as though her water gun attack had little effect.

"Hoo hoo hoo." Bud chortled as the attack ended. "I do so adore showers. They make me feel absolutely invigorated!" And with that, the battle or dance was on.

The buizel fired another blast of water at Bud who pirouetted out of her line of fire and closed in on her flank in a single move.

"Good dodge Bud!" Cindy called, "Now! Attack with absorb!"

Bud didn't need to be told twice. He struck with earnest drawing an agonized scream from the buizel. She was forced to roll away from Bud, but he began to press her as his body and confidence swelled.

"Thats a mistake," I thought. Realization dawned on me. "Cindy! Tell Bud to back off! He's too close!"

But she couldn't see what was coming and didn't understand me. The buizel shot a desperate blast of water at Bud's nubby legs. He spun and took a flying leap to avoid the shot and continue his advance, but the buizel's water gun attack only meant to draw Bud in. She finished her fake by halting her previous attack and opening up with a fresh water gun attack while Bud was mid air.

There was no way he could dodge it. The stream of water hit Bud squarely in the legs turning his leap into a whirling tumble. He landed badly on his back and before he could even get his breath back, the buizel slammed into him again and again with quick attacks. I winced as each blow hit. The buizel wasn't even giving Bud the chance to recover. Mercifully, Cindy called Bud back to his ball before he was beaten senseless.

Cindy's confidence looked shaken. Instead of calling Sye forward, she merely looked at him as though she was asking him if he really wanted to battle. Sye's eyes flashed brightly in response and teleported into the field. Cindy still looked a little unsure but she strengthened her resolve and focused on the battle at hand.

"Sye! Signal beam!"

Sye shot a flashing green bolt at the buizel with gusto, forcing her to retreat a few feet back. I noticed her movements were slower. She must have been tiring rapidly after facing two of Cindy's pokemon. The sneer lining her face was gone, replaced with a darkened scowl. She shot forward in a quick attack but Cindy was ready for that tactic.

"Sye! Avoid her quick attack with teleport! When you see an opening, attack with psychic!"

It was as though Sye and Cindy were linked mentally. Before Cindy finished her command, Sye was already gone, reappearing behind the buizel. Before Sye could open up with his mental assault, the buizel blurred and counter attacked forcing Sye to vanish and retaliate. They twisted in sudden bursts of speed like that for some time, until the buizel stumbled and Sye seized his chance.

I winced as she screamed in pain. I knew exactly how it felt to get hit with Sye's psychic whammy. She must have been caught in the outskirts of Sye's attack though, because she was able to move enough to stagger out of his range. They squared off against each other. Sye with a smug grin, the buizel panting heavily, her eyes out of focus.

"Yield buizel." Sye said making sure his words reached my mind as well. I glowered at him when I recognized those words. "This battle is over. If you surrender now, you will be well treated."

The buizel, still panting broke out into wheezing laughter. I was beginning to wonder if she took too many hits to the head.

"Oh no abra," She gasped. "This battle's far from over."

"I would have to disagree with you."

"Thats because you have no idea what I've got up my sleeve. For an all seeing psychic pokemon, you're pretty clueless."

That drew a derisive snort of laughter from me. Sye took a moment to glare at me before turning his attention back to his opponent.

"Sye," Cindy ordered. "Finish this with a signal beam. Don't hit her too hard, she's already tired."

Sye obeyed almost eagerly. I tensed as the beam flew, the buizel's knockout practically imminent. To everyone's surprise including me, the water weasel mustered enough strength to vanish in a quick attack, the beam missing by several feet. Sye anticipated her move and started to teleport away.

That was when I sensed the change of tactics.

The attack happened faster than sight and when both pokemon reappeared, a very shocked and injured Sye was tumbling across the grass while the buizel slumped wearily, a look of triumph on her face.

"What the karp happened?" I exclaimed.

"H-how?" Sye mental waves shuddered weakly.

"Pursuit," the buizel panted heavily. "by forcing you to retreat, I can out speed you and do double the damage. Since it's also a dark move you really felt the pain of that attack didn't you you pompous dope!"

Sye tried to rise and was quickly slapped down with another pursuit. Cindy panicked and tried calling Sye back into his ball. It appeared that pursuit has the same effect when calling pokemon back as trying to retreat with teleport. Sye was KOed by the time he vanished into his ball.

I wont deny that I felt a slight surge of satisfaction to see Swiss miss wipe the smug look off Sye's face, but at that moment anger welled up from the deepest pit of my chest. This pokemon had beaten up what I tentatively called my friends and was mocking them besides. I looked back at Cindy. She looked flustered. An expression I had never seen on her before.  
And I didn't like that one bit.

I must have been seething mad because I hadn't realized that I had taken the field of battle until I heard Cindy choke out a small cry of protest.

"Corin...you're hurt. I-I don't want you to get hurt again," Cindy whimpered.

Karp on a cracker. I knew she was concerned about my overall healthiness, but I was the only pokemon still standing to put up a decent enough fight and now, Cindy's confidence was shot. I didn't care that I was worn out from the struggle with the drifloon, or that my sides were burning, I had to convince her that I was well enough to battle.

I knew I couldn't just tell her, that whole language barrier was still there and still just as annoying. I sighed and turned to face Cindy. I was never really good at the whole body language thing but I had to give it a shot. I rolled my neck and shoulders, fluffed out my tail and gave my most ferocious growl.

Cindy sucked in a breath through her teeth. "Corin. Are you sure? You don't have to because of me. Because of my poor..." She didn't finish.

I growled again, louder this time. I couldn't have her falter now. I didn't want to admit it, but I needed her eyes and her support if I was going to stand a chance. Cindy gasped when I growled. Her eyes were a tumult of the storm of uncertainty raging behind them. She let her breath out slowly as she made her final decision. She straightened her back and put on her bravest face. I could only guess that she was choosing to deal with the battle at hand and weather the storm of doubt later. I nodded and turned back to the buizel teeth bared.

"Okay Corin!" Cindy shouted. "Go get her!"

"Better back off now," The buizel snarled, all mirth gone from her voice. "I don't want to be responsible for putting you back into traction."

My snarl matched hers in menace. "You gonna trash talk or fight missy?"

She blurred into her quick attack and I turned my shoulder barely in time to take the blow.

I've never been the fastest when it came to battle. My father could beat me in speed even though he was a ground type. It was why he taught me that if I can't be faster than my foe, I had better learn how to roll with the punches and to hit like a truck once I got my chance. Now I haven't been putting that advice to practical use lately because almost every opponent I had faced so far had outweighed me by a ton or three and could pack such a punch that it would turn my roll into a topple. But the odds were on my side this time. I was facing a foe that was in my same weight class for once, and she was exhausted.

I rolled with the blow correctly and swung with a tackle of my own. As tired as she was, she dodged my attack effortlessly. I watched her take a breath and I glanced at Cindy. She looked nervous but she nodded.

"Hang in there Corin! Wait for your chance!"

I sucked in a breath of my own and braced myself for what came next.

The blast from the buizel's water gun was intense. It had plenty of power behind it though I was sure it was costing the buizel greatly. Despite my best efforts to stay upright, I felt my legs buckle under the onslaught and I went down. The buizel sat back with an exhausted smirk as Cindy croaked out a soft sob.

"All of your buddies faced me and I'm still standing," the buizel said readying what she was sure to be her finishing move.

I didn't answer her. I was too busy trying to overcome the pain of her last attack and I needed to conserve every last ounce of energy I would need to pull off what I was planning.

The buizel sneered. "When I've knocked you out, I think I'll take your pokeball from your precious Cindy and make sure you stay in it. For your protection of course."

I think she was trying to scare me when she said that, but the thought of her possibly attacking Cindy to take my pokeball goaded me to my feet, my eyes narrowed to slits.

"Say goodbye to your trainer," she hissed.

Then she blurred.

I'm going to tell you something about pokemon and moves. Humans think that pokemon only have enough intelligence to remember only four moves at a time. That is only mostly true. Pokemon only use about four moves because any more than that would be an unnecessary waste of energy. When we change our move sets, we don't exactly forget the move we had previously and replace it with another. We simply store the move we don't want into a deep part of our subconscious to bring out later. A move restorer possesses the ability to draw old moves out of the deepest parts of our minds though hypnotic techniques. Some humans think this is amazing.

I think they're getting ripped off.

I had seen Swiss miss's quick attack more than a dozen times. By stepping off just right using the tip of the middle toe or paw pad, it gave her the boost of speed needed for the quick attack. I had already shelved my helping hand move for this attempt, so when the buizel blurred, I was ready. I grit my teeth and pushed my endurance past my limits. We met in a whirlwind of speed. She was still faster than me, but I had taken her completely by surprise. She hesitated and that was all I needed.

I slipped past her defenses and hit her with all I had left. She crumpled to the ground as we came out of the attack. My legs shook with fatigue as I watched the buizel try to rise. Cindy seized the opportunity and her empty pokeball flew true. I struggled to stay upright as the ball shook once, twice, three times before finally going still.

"Ha..." I said weakly. "Who needs protection now huh?"

I gratefully sank to the ground.

I woke up a few hours later and found myself staring up at a familiar ceiling and realized I was back in the pokemon center. My bandages had been redone, and this time I wasn't alone. Sye was still unconscious in the bed next to me while Capistrano perched on the post of the bed he was sharing with Bud next Sye.

"You're awake!" Capistrano twittered happily. "Wasn't that an incredible battle!?"

"Yeah." I muttered holding my middle. "I'm splitting my sides I liked it so much."

Capistrano either ignored my snark or he didn't recognize it. "That was so much fun! That buizel! She's going to be an amazing teammate I'm so excited I feel like we can take on the world! Do you think she'll like me?" I felt one side of my lip curl up into a small smile. I couldn't bring myself to rain on the starly's parade. Even though I felt like I had been shoved through a meat grinder, I was also immensely satisfied at our victory.

"Yeah," I sighed. "I think she will."

"That quick attack you performed," Bud chortled as he sat up. "It was clumsy and primitive, much like yourself, but with practice it can become a move of grace and beauty."

I blinked, "Hold on a second. Both of you were in your pokeballs. How did you see the outcome of the match?"

"Hoo hoo hoo! If you would take the time to languish in your pokeball, you would find that we are perfectly aware of the events transpiring around us my friend," Bud sang. I could tell he wanted to rise and dance as he sang, but his injuries (thankfully) kept him on his back.

The buizel we had all worked together to defeat was also awake in the bed on the other side of me. She was studying Cindy as she was rattling off names.

"Your stomach is like the color of cream, maybe butterscotch? No, that sounds more like a boy's name. Eclair? No. Thats not a good name."

The buizel rolled her eyes at her before focusing on me.

"I got it!" Cindy exclaimed, "Your fur reminds me of a treacle tart my grandma made for me once, I will call you Treacle! Plus, it sounds like trickle too! Do you like your new name Treacle?"

The buizel, now officially named Treacle looked at me exasperated.

"Your trainer is...a little strange," she mumbled.

"Hey you wanted to join us so bad, well welcome to the club. Weird names and all," I replied with a yawn.

"Treacle huh?" Said a familiar voice behind us. Everyone's heads (except Sye of course) turned to the willowy thin girl who had entered our hospital room. Merinda clutched a bouquet of flowers and was wearing a plastic smile.

"You always liked your sweets haven't you Cindy? It would explain why you've always been heavier than me."

"What do you want Merinda?" Cindy said, frost lining her words.

"Why, I've brought your pokemon a get well present of course!" Merinda replied, her face trying to convey shock and hurt. It was a good thing she decided to be a pokemon trainer because acting definitely was not one of her strong suits. "I also want to give you a little advice if you'll hear it."

"Like a have a choice?" Cindy muttered, I grinned at her. It wasn't very often that I had heard sarcasm from her.

"You should quit being a trainer." Merinda said her voice hard. "At the rate you're going, one or all of your pokemon are going to be dead before too long."

Author's Note

I'm going to risk sounding like a broken record by saying I am sorry for this chapter being so late. Every time I wanted to sit down and write, something would happen that would demand my immediate attention such as: oh, work calling me in early, finals fast approaching, and a little fuzzy demon of a kitten who has taken up the habit of sitting right on my keyboard. Despite all the delays, I enjoyed writing this chapter. I hope you like it too.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 Wanna Bet?

When I reflect back on it now, I suppose Merinda had good intentions for being as dramatic as she was. Maybe she did care about us, (pokemon I mean) and our well being that she resorted to scare tactics to stop Cindy from pushing us so hard. Then I tell that little portion of my brain to shut up, that her real purpose was to eliminate a potential rival by scaring her into quitting and that she was really threatened by our talents and strengths as a team.

I've noticed that I can be very pushy when it comes to inner battles with myself.

"Thats a bit dramatic Merinda, even for you." Cindy retorted.

The growl began in my stomach, bubbled up into my chest and finally worked it's way up into my throat until it came out low and angry. Merinda took one look at me, rolled her eyes and promptly ignored me. Curse my tiny cute body. If I was something bigger with a ton of pointy teeth, maybe I would have gotten a little more respect. I would have to settle for a glance for now.

"I'm being serious Cindy," Merinda said. "Just look at your team. They're all in the pokemon center because of one buizel. A _single_ wild pokemon beat the stuffing out of you. If you were facing a gym leader you would have been served on toast!"

"Not all my pokemon battled Merinda!" Cindy snapped, "And I caught the buizel."

A smirk spread across Merinda's face. "Oh, you're talking about Felicity. I saw that by the way. Yes, she would have ended the battle and saved you a trip to the center. Funny how she just walked off like that didn't she?"

"She didn't feel like battling so what?" Cindy said, though her voice faltered a bit.

Merinda feigned shock and put a slender hand to her mouth. "Oh! Oh dear, I would think that Mr. Prattleby's top student would know!"

Cindy glared at her. "Get to the point Merinda."

"How many badges do you have Cindy?" Merinda asked, the smirk stretching wider.

If I didn't know any better, I would think she was about to bite Cindy's head off or something.

"Well...uh...umm..." Cindy stammered.

"Have you even bothered to check Felicity's level?"

Cindy writhed uncomfortably in response.

"Uh huh. Just as I thought. Felicity wont battle for you, because she doesn't respect you enough to obey you. I don't blame her. I'm surprised any of your pokemon obey you at all!"

I was about to get up and argue when a flurry of wings whooshed over my head. Capistrano landed forcefully on Cindy's shoulder and spread his wings making himself look as threatening as a tiny bird pokemon can get.

"Thats enough from you! You... you... skinny little brat!" Capistrano twittered.

I felt my mouth drop open. I had never seen the starly get angry before. Anger wasn't an emotion he seemed to be familiar with and it showed in his posture, but the passion and fierce loyalty he felt for Cindy was undoubtably there.

"Y-you think you're Arceus's gift to training pokemon? You wouldn't know the friendship and sacrifice it takes to make a real trainer if it came up and bit you! You...you..." Capistrano broke off into sputtering.

Apparently, clever insults were foreign to him too.

Merinda took a small step backward eyes narrowed. Her hand brushed toward her belt which I noticed had three pokeballs attached to it. I knew one of them held Priscilla. A purugly that I would rather not confront until I was at my full strength. If she started a battle here, in our weakened condition, there would be no contest. Merinda would simply take us apart.

"Cindy. Control your pokemon, I don't want this to get ugly," Merinda warned. Every note of pleasantry was gone in her voice and she looked serious.

My growl rose into a snarl, Bud took up a battle stance which still managed to look graceful, Sye began to stir and Treacle was watching Merinda intently. Cindy glanced back at us and at Capistrano. Then she turned back to face Merinda. Her face twisted into one of fury, an ugly yet ferocious look on the girl that I didn't think possible.

"Thank you for the flowers Merinda," Cindy said quietly though the anger was clearly present. "Now get out. You're threatening my pokemon when they should be recovering. If you try to start any battles here, I swear no matter who you bring into battle, I will step over them and take the fight to you myself."

She brushed a hand over Capistrano's head and he quieted folding his wings and shoved his head into the crook of her neck clearly upset. Merinda's hand went away from her belt and she took another step back.

"All right," She said. "I'll go. Just remember what I said Cindy."

"No. I won't," Cindy snapped. "I'm not gonna let you bully me this time Merinda. My pokemon care about me and I care about them. None of them will die because I wont let that happen. They support me and are willing to push hard to better themselves which is what I will do from now on. The next time you see me Merinda, it will be when we battle each other whether it be a few days from now or the league and make no mistake, when we battle I _will_ thrash you!"

"League huh?" The smirk had reappeared on Merinda's face, "Care to make a little wager then?"

"What kind of wager?"

"First one to make it to the pokemon league wins."

"Fine!" Cindy snapped, "If I win, you have to stop picking on me and my pokemon!"

I didn't think Merinda's smirk could possibly get any wider, but it did.

"And if I win..." She purred. "You have to give up being a trainer forever, and..." Her steely eyes went towards me. "You have to give me your eevee."

Cindy coughed, "What?"

"Excuse me?" I barked.

"He'd be put to good use," Merinda smiled. "My daddy is always looking for new breeding stock for his eevee farm. He might be useful and if not, we'll make sure he's...retired humanely."

I could have sworn that girl sprouted fangs.

"You're not getting Corin!" Cindy snarled, her hands clenched into shaking fists of rage.

"Then you admit you're a bad trainer," Merinda shrugged. "A _real_ trainer takes risks and you clearly don't have the spine it takes to be a proper one."

"She put herself between a rampaging sudowoodo you twiggy, sharpedo-faced tart! She has more backbone than you will ever have!" I shouted as I stood up, or at least I tried to say it. I didn't get past calling her a "tart" before I wrenched something in my stomach and fell over mumbling "ouch..."

Cindy looked back at me her brow furrowed with worry. Merinda smiled triumphantly. Frailty flickered across Cindy's face and it looked like she was about to concede defeat when Sye sat up startling everyone. He turned his head purposefully at Cindy and his eyes flashed. Cindy's eyes registered confusion at first, then fear and finally, resolve. When she turned back to Merinda, Her voice was steady and her spine was as rigid as steel.

"Sye tells me Corin doesn't fear you or your stupid little challenge," she said, quietly. "I accept."

"Very good then!" Merinda chuckled, "I look forward to bringing daddy back a new eevee. You better get started right away Cindy, I'm already two badges ahead of you! Tootles!"

After flashing us another sneer and twiddling her fingers at us in a mocking wave, she flounced out of our room. Only until she left the center did we all relax and my brain started putting pieces together. Cindy had just agreed to a bet putting us all in a race to get to the league, a feat few accomplish mind you. Victory Road alone stops many league hopefuls cold in their tracks. And, the penalty for failure would be Cindy's loss of status as a trainer. Oh, and lets not forget I would be given away too. Though to be fair, the idea of being put out to stud wasn't necessarily the worst thing that could happen to me, that is if they even liked my unstable genetic makeup. I just couldn't get used to the idea of living on a farm, even a breeding farm for the rest of my life. Especially if I have to live with, as Capistrano put it, that skinny little brat.

Whoo boy Cindy. What have you gotten us into?

Author's note:

Yeah I know. This chapter seems pitifully short compared to the others I have written in the past, but I feel like this part seemed to deserve a chapter all by itself. And hey! At least you guys didn't have to wait forever and a day for me to kick my rear into gear and give you new reading material, or examples of how not to write a fanfic. Which ever you prefer. Thanks as always!


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 The Road to Oreburgh

Moonlight crept across the window sill of our room as night progressed. Heavy breathing and light snores drifted across the room. Since none of our injuries were life threatening, the nurses had allowed Cindy to spread out her bedroll on the floor and sleep with the rest of her pokemon. I lay on my back trying to get comfortable enough to sleep. My insomnia had nothing to do with the wager that may change our lives (or my life mostly) for the worse. That I could live with.

I couldn't sleep because the freaking buizel was watching me from her bed.

"You should rest. Get your strength back," she said softly.

"That sounds like a great idea," I smiled. "There's just one itsy bitsy problem. For some reason, gosh I can't put my paw on it, I'm having trouble see, there's this creepy female that is staring at me from across the room to the point where I think she might be drilling holes into me. That might have something to do with it."

"Am I creeping you out?" Treacle smiled back, "Aww...Is the widdle eevee scawed of me?"

"Bite me..." I grumbled turning over.

After a few more hours of trying to ignore the itching feeling of eyes on my back, my exhaustion finally got the better of me and I drifted off to sleep.

I wasn't chased this time. That dream or should I say nightmare was still a fairly new one. This time I returned to my usual dream.

I have a confession to make. I said that I had braved the trek over Mt. Coronet to get to where I am now. That much hasn't changed though in all honesty, I really should have died up there. I don't exactly remember how I had even managed to survive or why I felt like I needed to take such a suicidal trip. Maybe that was why I had this reoccurring dream. Maybe my mind was trying to piece together the details of my journey.

It started out as usual with the unbearable cold.

When I say cold, I don't mean the kind that makes you shiver in your coats. The cold I am talking about is the merciless kind. The one that batters the strength from your body, tears at your face, stops the breath in your lungs and tries to freeze your eyeballs solid. Against all odds, I was nearing the summit of the mountain. My joints were almost locked up, I could barely see and anything I did see was nothing but a hazy white as the snow lashed at my face and the wind whipped at the rest of me. As close as I was to the top, I could go no further. I just couldn't breathe and my vision clouded over completely in white. I didn't recall it until later in my dreams, but I remember now that I had fallen and I was quickly being buried under the snowfall to join the countless dead forgotten in the snowy depths of Mt. Coronet. I was dimly aware that I was about to die and I think my last flickering thoughts were of hope that I would see my parents again, wherever I ended up in the afterlife.

I felt strong hands, fingers, tentacles (I still wasn't sure) lift me then. I was cajoled to my feet by some force and encouraged to move. I didn't know who was helping me. I couldn't see at this point and my nose and ears had frozen long before, but this presence helped me as I crawled inch by agonizing inch until I had cleared the peak and descended to it's base where I could finally collapse. I remember being surprised to find I was still alive when I regained consciousness and even more strange was that besides a few frost burns in my ears and some lingering effects of snow blindness, I was still in one piece.

I try to replay my dream then. Try to figure out who or what saved me if I was saved at all. I still would get a flicker of hope that maybe my mysterious savior had been my mother. After all, I was still looking for her.

My brain doesn't like to cooperate when it comes to my Mt. Coronet dream though. Every time I rewind it, something more ridiculous pops up. Turn it back, I'm struggling up the mountain and it suddenly starts to rain purple flowers instead of snow. Try again. Now I'm swimming in sticky rawst berry ice cream. One more time. I reach the peak and there is Treacle sprawled seductively on a bed of roses, staring at me with heavy lidded, come-thither eyes and slathered in honey.

I'll spare you the particulars on that one. Though I'm sure there are some of you out there that want the details which I would say, get your minds out of the gutter. Or, go read something else. Unless you happen to be reading that at the same time as this. Don't know whether to be impressed or disturbed.

Anyway, I gave up trying to remember after that and sink back into the dark, comforting depths of sleep.

-

"You're kidding me," I sputtered as I gazed at the map Cindy had spread in front of us. "You mean to say we have to go back the way we came?"

Morning had brought us all together in the lobby of the pokemon center and after a rushed breakfast of pack rations, we huddled around Cindy to plan our next move. Sye had recovered fully by now and with a flicker of his eyes, relayed my message to Cindy even though I hadn't intended it to. Cindy ruffled my ears and smiled down at me though I could tell she was hiding how worried she was. Her smile was tight lipped and her shoulders were tense. Dark circles lined her eyes. She must not have slept well now that she had time to think about the bargain we made with Merinda.

"Oreburgh gym is where the first badge is Corin," Cindy said. "I didn't think we were going to be challenging gyms so soon, but it looks like we don't have much of a choice."

"It doesn't change the fact that we still have to go back..." I grumbled, "And don't you relay that!" I snapped at Sye as I watched his eyes flash. "Why didn't you do this sooner by the way?"

_"It never really seemed important when it concerned you,"_ Sye replied. _"Until now."_

"Now that we're in a race for badges," I said grimly. "It's your fault we're in this mess you know."

_"I disagree."_

"You convinced Cindy to take this stupid bet!"

_"I did no such thing. I merely told the truth."_

I snorted. "Yeah right."

_"Do you not fear Merinda?"_

"Of course not."

_"Do you fear her little challenge which you also believe to be stupid?"_

"Well...um...no," I grumbled knowing what Sye was about to say next."

A small smile lit Sye's face. _"Then you must admit that I am not at fault here. Besides, you don't have to be psychic to see that Cindy was looking for a little direction. I merely helped her find a way."_

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah. You're a real saint all right. I'm guessing that there wont be any skin off your nose if we happen to lose this bet."

_"The thought did cross my mind."_ Sye said smiling. _"I would gather that this would mean you will have to work a little harder and be more cooperative with Cindy from now on."_

"You know what Brainiac?" I barked, "I'm thinking of a few things right now involving your mother and a whailord. Wanna read my mind?"

"You guys!" Capistrano interrupted, "We have to work together on this or we aren't gonna get anywhere."

"Agreed!" Bud warbled, "The best dances are ones where the players are in perfect sync with one another."

That got an exasperated sigh from me.

"What about you Treacle?" Capistrano chirped, "You're awfully quiet. What do you think?"

The buizel shrugged. "I only care about the overall health of this hairball," She said waving a paw at me. "If it means helping you guys win some bet or making Cindy a whole person or whatever then sure. I'm in."

"I...think thats the best response you're going to get from her," I muttered.

"You already know my stance on this," Felicity sniffed. "Though I'm in agreement with Sye about not losing sleep over what will happen to Corin if we lose the bet."

"You've been sleeping an awful lot lately grandma," I shot back.

"Say that again tiny," Felicity growled.

I was about to say something heated back but Capistrano got between us and spread his wings.

"Guys! Guys! What did I just say?"

Cindy scooped him in her arms trying to quiet him.

"Easy Capistrano. Easy." She shot us all a glance. "That goes for all of you okay?"

We answered with grunts, grumbles and nods.

"Okay. Since everybody is healed we're going in a little bit," Cindy said with a sigh. "Corin, how's your stomach?"

I stretched experimentally and only felt mild discomfort. Like I said, pokemon heal fast when we have enough down time and potions. I rolled my neck and nodded at her with a confident growl. I was in as good of a fighting spirit as I was ever gonna be.

Before the sun had risen too high, we were on our way, (ugh) back where we came from. It didn't take me long to get over my disappointment though. Now that the leash law was officially dissolved, I was free to lope down the pathway marking every bush and shrub I felt fit to claim as my own. I was feeling almost like myself again though I wasn't completely stupid. I didn't let Cindy out of my sight. Not that I was feeling nervous that we were entering the territory of a rather violent, sad imitation of a tree that has tried to kill me once already. I wanted to make sure Cindy was okay if Treeboy did demand a rematch. Yeah. That was exactly it.

It turned out I didn't need to bother.

The scents hit me first before I even saw the aftermath. Upturned dirt and broken branches assaulted my senses and those were the nicer ones. I caught the sour scent of fear and desperation, only hours old since I could still smell it clearly. It was the other smell that stopped me in my tracks. It was a dark, dangerous scent. Aggressive. Coming from something that wanted to inflict pain. That enjoyed hurting things.

I saw deep furrows in the ground to the right of the path I was on. Bushes, or what was left of them, were completely obliterated. Small trees and even some of the larger ones were uprooted and tossed like matchsticks in the wind. It looked as though a miniature tornado had blown in, thrown itself a little party and faded away. A tornado would have been nicer.

A tornado would have had less of an effect on me.

I was completely unaware that my legs had stiffened, my fur stood out at all angles, my ears were flattened and I was uttering sharp snarls until Cindy scooped me up and tried to calm me down. I couldn't explain it, but I didn't like what I saw. I really didn't like it and I would be lying if I said it didn't scare the fertilizer out of me.

"Corin! It's ok. It's ok," She said as my tiny heart hammered in my chest. She looked out at the damage scanning for danger. "Theres nothing out there Corin."

I had to tell myself that what I was seeing already happened and that what ever was here was long gone now. Or at least I hoped. I relaxed slightly in Cindy's arms though I was still growling involuntarily.

_"It looks as though a terrible battle has taken place here,"_ Sye told me from the comfort of his pokeball. _"The psychic imprint left behind is deep...disturbing."_

_"Can you tell me who was attacked here?"_ I thought back to Sye.

_"I think you know, but I will confirm your fears if that is what you want."_ Sye said. _"The sudowoodo that defeated you days ago was the recipient of this attack."_

_"Can you sense the sudowoodo now?"_

_"No,"_ Sye answered emotionless. _"It is possible that the sudowoodo has been captured or possibly destroyed. There is enough damage done to the area here that could indicate a pokemon attack bent on the destruction of it's target."_

I felt my insides grow cold. Sure, Treeboy was not much of an opponent even though he kicked my tail, but he was no pushover. Whatever did this to him went strictly for him and no one else. Sye would have mentioned it if there were other victims. Cindy must have felt uneasy too because she started walking with me in her arms at a more hurried pace. I had no problem with that at all. One last thing was troubling me and I forced myself to ask before fear clamped down on my mind.

_"Do you...sense who was responsible for the attack Sye?"_

At first I thought Sye ignored me but when he answered I thought I felt some emotion flicker through him. Anxiety?

Suck a stick. What kind of thing would make a detached pokemon like Sye nervous?

_"The attacker has been...shielded from me. I sense it was the work of more than one. Perhaps a group. I can sense that these people, pokemon or both are cruel, vicious and resolute."_

I realized right then why I was feeling this way. I had felt the same kind of gibbering fear when I was being chased by that thing in my nightmares. _"You cannot hide from me now,"_ it had shouted triumphantly. _"I have finally found you. You may have escaped us once, but not this time. I've found you and we are coming for you!"_

We are coming for you.

I shook violently. It was just a dream. It had to be. There was no connection whatsoever to what happened here and my nightmare. So why did I feel like there was a connection?

Cindy had started scratching me under my leather collar. Sweet girl. She had no idea what had me so freaked out, but she was trying to make me feel better anyway. Her warmth and her fingernails sent shivers of pleasure through me that cut through the fear like a scyther shearing a mareep. I stretched in her arms with a happy groan and her fingers went up behind my ears. I had no idea my back leg was going crazy until I shook myself out of the sudden euphoria that she had put me in.

"Ey," I growled though it was more of a mumble than a growl. "Knock idoff."

Cindy giggled but she took the hint and stopped scratching.

I let her carry me for little while longer after that. Until I had calmed down completely and wanted to walk the rest of the way myself. I kicked out of her arms and trotted down the path next to her. I remained next to her until we had returned to her house in Jublife. Maybe I wasn't calmed down as completely as I thought.

Gina was there to greet us with open arms. She looked us all over and told Cindy how happy she was to see we had all grown. Especially Capistrano. She _adored_ Bud who loved her in return. When you have as many flowers growing in your front yard as much as Gina did, It would stand to reason that walking, talking flowers would like you too. Treacle regarded Gina calmly as though filing the woman under "unimportant to the mission" and acted as though she was bored with her. Not before sticking her tongue out at me when she caught me staring.

Ben and Mandy apparently had to work late because they were not present at dinner. I noted that even though Cindy was a little disappointed her father was not at the table with them, she looked resigned as though this sort of thing happened often. As we were all busy stuffing our faces, Cindy brought up her issue with Felicity. Gina feigned that she had no idea Felicity would be so disobedient.

"I guess this means you will have to earn a couple of badges then if you want her to battle for you." Gina shrugged between bites of mashed potatoes.

The sly she-serpent. If I didn't know any better, I would think she had this planned all along.

Cindy carefully omitted the part where we made that bet with Merinda. Focusing more instead on how Treacle and Bud joined our merry little band. Gina seemed puzzled about the sudowoodo. She remarked that sudowoodos are usually found far from where we live and for one to get to where he was he would have had to travel very far. Yeah. That didn't sound eerily familiar to me at all. Cindy and her mother talked long into the night and Gina shooed her daughter off to bed only when we started falling asleep on our feet.

We left the next morning after another tearful goodbye, though it was less tearful than last time and I may have been imagining it, but I think Gina smiled at me.

Yeah. I think I have a very active imagination.

Instead of heading north out of Jubilife, we went east down a very familiar path to me. Route 203 was the closest thing that seemed like home to me. I could still smell where I had laid out the boundaries of my territory and I rushed to reinforce them. I was convinced that this wasn't the last time I would ever see my old stomping grounds again. I just had to keep telling myself that.

Too soon we were at the mouth of a cave I never even bothered exploring when I was still wild. The mouth of this cave had intricately carved rock type pokemon chiseled into the stone that wreathed it's way around the entrance. Human words lined the top of the cave entrance, but I couldn't read what it said. It wasn't until I learned how to read and write like I am doing now, that it read "Oreburgh Gate."

Cindy gave me a big grin and without another word, strode inside.

"Hey!" I called after her, "What are you doing you crazy girl? Don't go in there without me!" I bounded in after her shaking my head.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 Rocky Relationship

As I plunged recklessly into the cave I had to blink several times to adjust my eyes to the gloomy darkness. It didn't hamper my movements. I rely more on my ears than I do my eyes.

What? Did you think an eevee's long ears were for looks only?

I as well as others that put their trust in their hearing have learned often through bitter and painful experience that your eyes can deceive you. Heck, some pokemon use such deception to their advantage. I'm guilty of that every time I kick sand into my opponent's faces. Eyesight is the most comforting of the senses. It brings the unknown into the light and banishes our fear. If you can see an angry tauros rampaging toward you for example, you would wisely be scared enough to react accordingly to the obvious half-ton, four legged hamburger wanting to tear you a new one. But you would also be relieved that you saw the moo cow coming first in time to react to it.

Dark and psychic types alike love to prey on such security.

I focused instead on the sound of Cindy's sneakers slapping the cave floor as she ran. Her breathing, slightly labored, could only be heard if I really focused. I had to give the girl some credit. She was in good shape and I had to really lengthen my stride just to keep up. Moments later, I heard her utter a startled cry mingled with the flat honk of the wild pokemon she obviously just encountered. A psyduck by the sound of it. I cursed under my breath and dug my paws into the stone putting on an extra burst of speed. I had just about closed the distance to Cindy, who had by the sound of it, brought out Capistrano to deal with the psyduck when I felt my back left paw snag on a jagged bit of rock and send me into a tumble.

Okay, maybe I was being a little self righteous about the whole hearing thing. Eyesight can be useful sometimes.

I took the fall surprisingly well which doesn't usually happen. I rolled a couple times before managing to skid back up onto my paws. I shook off the spill with an irritated grunt and was glad no one was around to see it. I may not be the most graceful pokemon in Sinnoh, but I do my best to preserve what little dignity I do have.

I was about to charge off to join Cindy in battle which sounded like it was getting pretty heated, when I heard a scrape and a sudden whistling of air. I reacted instantly, throwing myself to one side. A half second later, there was a crunch as rock met the rock floor. I whirled on the attacker with my most vicious snarl. By this time, my eyes had adjusted enough to see through the gloom and the stone that had almost squashed me was actually a rocky fist. A very angry geodude pushed herself out of a divot in the floor where she had obviously been napping before yours truly had come along. I faced her squarely, anxious to aid Cindy but not wanting to turn my back to the overgrown pebble.

She wasn't remarkable in looks. Flat grey, heavy set brows that were presently furrowed in righteous anger. Her face and long limbs were slightly thinner than the males of her species, but that didn't make her any less of a threat. Her fists were still massive and as I noted the small crater in the ground where I was standing a moment before, just as dangerous.

"Hey!" I shouted, "Watch where you're swinging your stubs lady! You almost clobbered me!"

"You didn't look where you were stepping! You stepped on my beautiful face while I was in the middle of my detox!" the geodude grated.

Maybe I should say geodudette. Just to spit in the eye of the human derived pokemon naming system.

That killed any kind of retort I was about to sling back at her. If what I did was true, I wouldn't blame her for trying to turn my skull into a bowl. If someone had stomped on my face, I would have wanted to do the same thing. See folks? This is one of the first steps in practicing diplomacy in a moment of confrontation. Once you notice similarities between you and the person that has pissed you off, you both can reach some sort of compromise and then no one has to resort to turning each other inside out. I decided to take the higher road even though it meant putting the rest of my dignity through a paper shredder. I took a steadying breath and bowed. I didn't take my eyes off her though. I'm not that stupid.

"I am very sorry for stepping on you miss," I said though the words came out forced. "I was trying to get back to my trainer as fast as I could and I was not watching where I was going."

"Well thats all well and good for you," the geodudette sniffed. "But what about the perfectly good patch of dirt you ruined with your filthy paws hmm? What am I supposed to do about that?"

I bit back a pretty rude and (no pun intended) dirty suggestion about where she could shove her "ruined" dirt and said, "Maybe you can find another patch of...dirt nearby that will be just as good. Maybe better."

She gave me a look that was a mixture of both annoyance and pity. "It would figure that someone with blemishes like yours would never understand. There is no patch of dirt quite like that one and you've ruined it. Ruined it!"

I could hear Cindy's battle drawing to a close. She wasn't screaming in horror or pain, so I figured it must have ended positively. Good. That was one less thing for me to worry about.

"I'm sorry for messing up your dirt," I said trying to step around the geodudette. "Really I am, but I need to go now. Enjoy the rest of your detox...mudbath...thing."

I was forced to heel as she whipped around and got in my face. I felt my lips curl back to expose my teeth and my ears flatten. Though I was trying to keep the peace for once this time, I really don't like it when pokemon get that close to me.

"No, I wont have a good cleansing! My whole day is ruined because of you! Now tell me little fuzzball, what should I do about that hmm?"

Screw diplomacy. Some pokemon are just idiots.

"I'll tell you what you can do you lumpy hag," I hissed. "You can eat dirt."

And I pelted her with an angry sand attack. Being as close as she was to me, there was no way I could miss.

She drew back with a hiss and I didn't wait for her to react. I turned and ran. Even though I was sure I could take her, I didn't want to get Cindy involved with something I started. I resolve my own conflicts consarn it.

I didn't get far. I heard something whistle over my head and I reared back just as a rock the size of my head sail over and smash to bits where I would have placed myself a few seconds earlier had I kept going. I winced as a jagged bit of the stone whipped across my face, but I shelved the pain in the back of my mind so I could focus on the big problem at hand. Namely, the pissed off pebble with a mouth chucking what may be her relatives at me. I whirled back on the geodudette as she rubbed the last of the grit out of her eyes. It figured. Being a rock type, it would make sense a ground based attack would have little to no effect against her.

"You must think you're real cute aren't you?" Geodudette spat, pebbles from my attack spraying everywhere.

"What gave me away?" I asked nonchalantly, and turned my back on her. "My oversized ears, or fluffy tail?" I shook my butt at her in case she didn't understand sarcasm. Just because I was now in a fight I didn't want to be in, that didn't mean I wasn't going to let that gem of a comment slip by.

She roared and charged me. She apparently understood derision which proved that there is hope for her species at least. If I was her, I would have thrown rocks at the annoying fuzzy thing until it wasn't annoying or fuzzy anymore. I got lucky that she didn't remotely think like me and decided to pound me flat instead. I wanted to close the distance between us and it was better to get her to do the closing for me. The rocky terrain was what had got me in trouble in the first place and if I tripped on a quick attack here, forget nursing a nasty headache.  
I'd be picking up half of my face off the floor.

I waited for her to swing before turning and ducking under her crushing blow. She had gotten close enough to me so that I was certain of my quick attack landing solidly on her and I blurred. Slamming my shoulder into her with enough force to topple pokemon that would have been four times my size. If they were anything but a rock type pokemon that is. All that happened was me bouncing off her as though I was made of rubber while the geodudette barely even flinched.

My shoulder screamed and promptly went numb. I swore under my breath as I tried to put my weight on my injured leg without showing how much it hurt. Even though my tough guy act wasn't enough to keep me from getting into a fight, at least it made most pokemon think twice about murdering me outright. If I looked like I wasn't going down without almost taking my opponent with me, it generally made them hold back a bit on the murder aspect. Showing any kind of weakness now would be bad. Very bad. Enough to get me killed bad.

The geodudette grinned, "I really hope that isn't all you can do. Keep that up and I wont even need to do anything. Just stand here and let you batter yourself to pieces."

I didn't reply. I had a feeling that if I tried to say something snarky, it would have come out as a pained whimper which would have destroyed the snarky remark before it could be uttered. Instead, my eyes darted around, taking in my surroundings while looking for possible escape routes. A spark of an idea flashed in my head and flickered slowly until a plan was fully ablaze. I found a good sized rock that wasn't too heavy for me to carry and picked it up in my jaws.

"You can't possibly hope to beat me with that rock do you?" The geodudette said, her grin getting wider. "I'll tell you what. Give up now, apologize, and maybe if you beg for your life convincingly enough, I might let you live."

Since my mouth was full of rock, I couldn't tell her to go suck a stick and I charged her instead. It took most of my focus just to force myself to run on my bad leg and carry the heavy stone at the same time. And goody for me, this was the easy part. Geodudette's grin faded and was replaced with a scowl as I ran at her and she pulled back her fist to let me have it once I came in range. My heart hammered in my chest from fear and exertion. If I made one mistake here, I'd end up as a eevee pizza and that was the nicest alternative that ran through my desperate mind if I screwed this up.

The geodudette roared as she swung. I could tell the force behind her punch was vicious enough to break pokemon much bigger than me. I wasn't about to find out firsthand how nasty her punch was. I uttered a muffled scream as I threw myself into the air, her punch whistling under me as she missed me by mere inches.

The geodudette was right in thinking I alone didn't have enough power to do any damage to her. That was why I planned to use the power of the area around me. You see, in order to perform a quick attack, you need traction of some sort. You have to start with at least one paw on solid ground to kick off from. You can't perform a quick attack in midair.

Which was why I brought my stone with me.

The geodudette was wrong in thinking I wanted to use the rock to brain her with it. I'm not that stupid. Rock attacks would be about as effective as sneezing on her, and I'm just not the kind of pokemon that can pull off a rock type move. I brought my stone so I could provide myself with the solid ground I would need to pull off what I can do naturally.

I grunted as I twisted in the air making sure the stone was between me and the cave roof.

"Take this Pebbles!" I shouted as I kicked off of the stone I held and went into my quick attack.

I relied on gravity, and the geodudette's inability to think in three dimensions to power my attack and this attempt worked much better. As I crunched into her with my already throbbing shoulder, She went down and bounced on the ground. I crashed and tumbled along with her as the rock I kicked smashed into the ceiling.

I sprawled on the floor jirachis swirling in my eyes and body pulsing in pain. I thought that taking a nice nap would be a great idea until a large rock bounced dangerously close to my head, followed by another and another. I dimly realized that maybe the cave roof where I kicked that rock wasn't all that stable. They were confirmed when the roof above us rumbled. It was sheer force of will and my overall toughness that had nothing to do at all with pant soiling terror that pushed me to my feet and sent me scrambling away from the tumbling rocks. The geodudette wasn't as fast as me and was quickly buried under the rock slide.

I flopped over on my side panting. "Ha...serves ya right beauty queen." In the distance, I could hear heavy footsteps coming closer. Cindy's. I was sure of it. Good. I was in a pretty surly mood and I felt like showing off my triumph. This was what real pokemon could do. I didn't need some stupid trainer, a girl telling me how I should-

The pile of rocks quivered behind me, some of the smaller ones in the pile rolling past my face.

"Oh suck a stick. Really?" I groaned as I forced myself to my paws. I wearily faced the pile of rocks as a fist rose out of the rubble. Followed by another. The rest of the geodudette emerged in due succession. If she was a fire type pokemon she would have been burning white hot with fury but even though she wasn't, she was trying to burn holes into me with her glare.

"I did not..." she seethed as she scooped up a rock as big as me, "ASK FOR A FACIAL SCRUB!"

She flung the stone and I was forced to dive headlong to the side to avoid getting pulverized. She screeched again snatched another rock and hurled it at me. Clearly, she had caught on to the whole rock-throwing-till-fuzzy-thing-shut-up strategy. I ducked her latest missile and made another dismaying observation.

My little stunt had given her plenty of ammunition to work with.

I couldn't keep this up before she ran out of rocks. I was too tired and in too much pain. Her next rock missed me by inches. The next by mere centimeters. As I twisted to zig-zag away from the next salvo, I felt my right front leg give out completely and I fell on my face with a frustrated scream. I clenched my jaws and squeezed my eyes shut. This next one was going to hurt but that didn't mean I had to see it coming.

"CORIN!"

My eyes snapped open. The rock sailed past me and shattered into the stones just barely to my left, shards lashing my body. Painful, but only a minor annoyance. I rolled over and was back on my paws but only on three this time. My right front leg was useless for now. Cindy was behind me and she had been the one who screamed. It was the thing that probably made the geodudette miss quite possibly saving my life.

"Corin! Get back now! I'll handle this!" Cindy cried pulling Treacle's pokeball off her purple belt.

She was right of course. I couldn't fight. I was (literally) on my last legs, and Treacle would easily make short work of Pebbles. But, like I said before. It was my fight and I resolve my own conflicts. It had nothing to do at all with not wanting a girl and a female pokemon (who would never let me live it down), to swoop in and rescue me. Nope. Not at all. Honest.

"No! I can take her!" I growled, and planted my three legs firmly, "Stay back Cindy."

Without Sye translating for her I was sure she didn't understand what I had said. I had to hope my body language was enough to get the point across. I wasn't going anywhere.

"Your trainer is getting involved now huh?" The geodudette said fuming.

"I'm jus' full of surprises," I said teeth bared. "Back off now before I finish this for good."

"Corin!" Cindy snapped. "I'm warning you! Get back now!"

I blinked, and angled my head back at Cindy, not taking my eyes off the geodudette. She had never used that tone of voice before. She had a second pokeball in her other hand and a new wave of fury rose in my chest when I recognized it.

The geodudette grabbed another rock and aimed for me.

I bellowed in challenge and charged.

Time slowed, (blast you Dialga).

"Corin!" Cindy's voice echoed and I saw her thrust out my pokeball.

Cindy...don't you dare.

"Return!"

There was a flash of red light, a strange pulling sensation, weightlessness.

Then nothing.

I woke up feeling that warm, comfortable feeling that I liked and yet detested at the same time. I was back inside my pokeball. The anger I felt alone was enough to let me leave, I knew it but I needed to sort through my emotions that were swirling around inside like a literal hurricane. She pulled me out of a fight. Against my will. A fight I had no chance of winning. She had no right to put me back in my ball. She was trying to save me. She knew how much I hated being in my ball. She was doing what she thought was the right thing. She betrayed me. She protected me. I hope the geodudette belts her one. I hope she's okay.

Musical laughter, both mocking and beautiful drifted across the stillness interrupting my thoughts.

"Oooh you really did it now." The voice I recognized as Treacle's floated into my demesne. "She is really mad at you you know."

"Enjoy the show?" I muttered, not really in the mood to engage.

"Enjoy it?" Treacle sniffed, "I didn't enjoy it. I was sent to clean up the little mess you've gotten yourself into thank you very much."

"I told Cindy to butt out. I was my fight."

"If I could slap you right now, I would. You would have been beaten and you know it. Honestly, what is it with you and picking fights you can't win? Do you have a death wish or something? Seriously no wonder you need a protector."

"If thats all you have to say then I'll be going now." I grumbled as I prepared to leave my pokeball.

"Better have a good heart to heart with Cindy then," Treacle added. "She's very mad at you. She's considering putting you on ice in the PC at the first pokemon center she gets to."

"Oh we'll see about that!" I said with a snarl.

With a small effort of willpower, (I've noticed that it is much easier to leave a pokeball once I've left one the first time) I was back out and breathing Sinnoh's air again. The sky was in it's rusty red and yellow hues of dusk. We were at the cave's exit, on a ledge overlooking a small, dusty town. I noticed that being in a pokeball had an added side effect. I wasn't in any pain when I was in my ball. Now that I was out I felt my injuries afresh. I gingerly tested my bad leg, found it wasn't broken at least and limped over to Cindy. She had apparently been ready for me since she was sitting, her long legs dangling over the edge. Sye perched next to her. I was expecting an accusatory glare from him, but his face remained blank.

Cindy wasn't even looking at me. Her mouth was set in a hard frown, something that did not look good on her and her eyes stared straight out at nothing filled with anger and hurt.

The silence between us stretched for an eternity.

Cindy spoke first, and when she did her voice was quiet.

"Why Corin? Why didn't you listen to me?"

"That was my fight Cindy," I said. "I started it. I was going to finish it."

"You could have been killed if I didn't pull you out. That geodude was so mad it took Bud and Treacle both to chase her off."

I growled angrily, "I don't let anyone else fight my battles Cindy. You had no right to put me back in my pokeball."

Her head swiveled at me and we locked eyes. "Yes, I do Corin! You're my-"

"I DO NOT BELONG TO YOU! I AM MY OWN! NO ONE ELSE'S!"

I didn't expect that to come out so loud. I guess I didn't realize how deep my resentment of my capture really was until now.

Again, silence hung like a thick heavy wall between us.

Tears welled up in Cindy's eyes but she thrust out her jaw and kept them from falling.

"Fine..." She whispered, "If that's how you feel."

She tossed something underhanded at me. My pokeball clacked to the ground twice, then rolled to a stop in front of me.

"Be your own then." She said quietly and turned to stare at nothing again.

If I didn't know any better, I think she had just freed me.

So why did I feel less than thrilled?

"Cindy... I ... I'm-"

"Just go." She whispered. She didn't bother holding back the tears now and they streamed silently down her face.

I sighed heavily, picked up my ball and trudged back into Oreburgh Gate. I just couldn't bring myself to break my ball right there in front of her.

I hadn't gotten far, stupid geodudette, stupid leg, when I felt Sye's touch on my mind.

_"Corin...wait."_

I didn't stop. Sye teleported to my side, his expression still unreadable.

_"What do you want now?"_ I snapped at him mentally, _"To gloat? To tell me to not let the door hit me in the tail on the way out?"_

_"Don't leave her...please."_

That is what stopped me. He had said, "Please." I didn't even know that was freaking possible.

I dropped my ball as I rounded on him. "Of all the pokemon besides Felicity, I would have thought you would be glad to see me go! I mean suck a stick, didn't you even tell me once I was nothing but trouble? So seriously Sye? Why on Sinnoh and for the rest of the world for that matter, should I stay with you guys huh? Why?"

He went eerily still. So quiet that I could hear him take a small breath.

"That's what I thought." I said as I picked up my ball and started walking again.

_"Once, there was an abra that hatched from an egg."_ Sye's thoughts flooded into mine. They were rushed, as though it was he decided at the last minute to share this with me.

I snorted and didn't slow down. "I don't got time for a bedtime story Brainiac."

My joints and muscles seized and painfully locked into place.

_"You will MAKE time for this one Corin."_ Sye thought at me with a tidal flood of emotions ranging from anger, sadness and desperation.

I growled low in my throat and debated breaking his psychic hold on me. Sye seemed determined to keep me there, but I could sense if I really made the effort, I could twist out of it and shut him out of my mind for good. It would take a lot of energy I couldn't spare though. I wasn't planning on returning to route 203. Too much had happened there. I needed to save my strength if I was going to find a new place to live while healing from my injuries. It wouldn't hurt to listen to one last story of how great every pokemon's trainer seemed to be and how I was missing out. I relaxed as much as my body could be allowed, and Sye took this as a sign to let me go.

"_On the day of this abra's birth, the first face and emotions he shared with another were with the boy who would become his trainer."_ Sye continued. His thoughts seemed reluctant at first, but as he progressed they became quicker.

_"The emotions the abra read from the boy were feelings of pride and immense happiness. Those emotions became the abra's emotions and he decided from that day forward to never be separated from the boy."_

I snorted and rolled my eyes which got me a flash of warning from Sye.

_"The boy was very rich. Shortly after the abra hatched, he bought an expensive TM and taught the abra psychic. An advanced move far beyond the abra's level but the abra, who wanted nothing more than to please his trainer, forced himself to the point of mental pain to learn the move. While traveling on the boy's yacht, the abra was brought to a move tutor where he was pushed again to learn a move that would give him an advantage against dark type foes. Signal beam." _

_"From that point on, the abra became a powerful opponent in battle. With every victory, the boy's pride would grow and the abra was happy."_ Sye's thoughts took on a harder edge and I felt flashes of pain, anger and confusion. _"Happy that he had pleased his trainer."_

Sye paused to take a deep breath and get his emotions under control. I let him. I had a feeling this bedtime story was about to take a turn away from the classic clefairy tale.

Sye steadied himself and continued. _"One day, the abra and his trainer ran into a ridiculously costumed man with teeth as crooked as his own heart. He claimed to be from an organization called Team Galactic and demanded that the abra be handed over to him at once. Naturally, the boy refused and a battle ensued. Though the abra faced a stunky as his opponent, with the help of signal beam, he made short work of his enemy."_

_"The man was understandably angry at his loss, but instead of leaving like he should have, he began to talk to the boy who had taken an interest in the stunky for in Sinnoh they are difficult to find. To the abra's disgust, the man proposed a trade. The abra for the stunky. The abra was convinced that the boy would never accept such a trade. He was sure the bond between them was far too strong for that."_

I felt my heart sink into my stomach. "The boy... He traded the abra didn't he?"

_"The abra was confused."_ Sye said as though he didn't hear me, _"Didn't the boy love him too much to give him away to a man who wanted nothing more than a strong pokemon? "I can always get another abra," the boy had said. "They're easy to breed." The abra had no choice but to leave with the evil man."_

I was hoping that was the end of the story. I knew better. Sye kept going. His story speeding along now like a golem rolling down hill. Unstoppable.

_"The abra tried to make the best of his new situation. He faithfully obeyed his new trainer even though he was commanded to do terrible things. Stealing other pokemon from trainers, hurting people that tried to save their pokemon. The abra broke a little inside every time he was ordered to do so, but it was what his trainer wanted so he obeyed."_

_"One day, the man and the abra encountered a trainer. A very strong trainer. The one who would later go on to save all of Sinnoh and become the league champion. The man and the trainer did battle and the abra found himself completely outclassed. He did not mind though. He found himself in awe of facing such happy, confident pokemon. Try as the abra may, he was beaten and the trainer left. The abra hoped that the man saw what he had seen in the pokemon and trainer they faced. That maybe the man would change his views on how he saw pokemon as more than a simple tool."_

I rocked forward as I was assaulted by a tidal wave of pained emotion.

_"You worthless weakling!" The man had screamed, "I shouldn't have traded for you! You're not strong at all!" The man advanced on the exhausted abra and he...he beat that abra. He beat that abra until he could no longer lift his arms to hit him anymore. The man smashed the abra's pokeball and left the wounded pokemon to die."_

I felt sick. I have been thrashed within an inch of my life once or twice, but physical pain is something we all go through. It's a part of life, and even the human body is amazing when it comes to healing itself.

Emotional beatings, are something else. They take far more time to heal if they ever do at all.

_"The abra was discovered, by a man and his daughter. Against all odds, the girl brought that abra back from the brink of death. The abra was never expected to battle while living with the girl's family, which confused the abra at first but as time went by, it was just the thing the abra needed to heal from a lifetime of conflict. It wasn't until recently that the abra began to battle once more and to this day he will follow his trainer to the very depths of the underworld and back."_

Sye's thoughts stilled in my mind leaving it buzzing with other thoughts of my own. I picked up my ball and started to limp off to sort them out.

Or squash them, whichever one came first.

_"Whatever you choose to do,"_ Sye mentally said to me. _"Know that Cindy doesn't want to give up on you. Please don't give up on her." _

After that, he was gone. Teleported. I sat down again. My mind hurting almost as much as my bum leg.

Great.

If Cindy didn't want to give up on me, why did she let me go? Not because she was done with me. I knew that, but it was what she thought I wanted. It _was_ what I wanted.

Wasn't it?

"Sure it was," I told myself. "I never wanted to be somebody's pet. Some tool to be used by someone else."

But as much as I tried to rationalize it, I had to admit to myself that I never felt that way while in captivity with Cindy. Sure, she held me back in a few ways, but she did keep me out of police custody. She also took care of me when I was injured. No one's ever done that for me before, and that one victory against Treacle simply felt amazing. I lifted my bad paw and clasped the silver charm with the star in the middle that hung around my neck.

I did desire freedom, but I didn't want to do it this way.

Cindy was still back on the ledge overlooking the town. Her head was buried into her knees which were curled up and she was hugging to her chest. Her pokemon were gathered around her, sharing her grief. My pokeball rolled and clattered across the ground until it came to a rest at Cindy's feet.

Her head snapped up and she turned to look at me. I was sitting about a yard away from them with a small grin on my face.

I was met with a mixture of expressions, ranging from shock (Cindy) to utter disgust (Three guesses which old bitty that countenance belonged to).

"Sooo..." I began, "I may have been a little...rash with what I've said lately."

I got a snort from Felicity and an eye roll from Treacle.

"Corin! I'm so sorry!" Cindy said, a fresh wave of tears rolling down her cheeks.

I sighed, "Okay. First thing's first, stop saying sorry. Everything's not always your fault."

"Okay. I'm sor-" Cindy caught herself, "Okay."

"Second," I added. "I meant what I said when I said I don't belong to anyone."

"Must you insist on twisting against how things are?" Felicity hissed, "You were defeated soundly and your capture was assured. Your life belongs to another now."

"That's where you're wrong krabbycakes," I shot back.

Static crackled in the air surrounding her "What did you just call me?"

I opened my mouth to fire off another bolt of wit.

"He's right," Cindy said quietly.

Every pokemon turned to stare at her.

Cindy shrugged, "I used to get so mad at how team Galactic once treated their pokemon. They didn't care about how they felt or what their needs were. They only saw them as objects to be used to reach their goals." She smiled as her eyes roved over us, "I wouldn't be any better than them if I only saw you all as just my pokemon."

Her eyes settled on Felicity, "You are more than that to me."

She turned to look at Bud and Capistrano who was about ready to cry. Pansy. "You are my friends."

Cindy looked at Sye and Treacle next, "You are my partners."

Her eyes finally settled on me and I felt a flash of that same strength that I felt in her father and my heart beat faster.

"You are my family."

Family.

I shivered despite my best efforts to stay neutral. A family was something that I had longed for since I had lost my mother. I looked back at Cindy and at the others beyond. Well, they weren't much to live with, but you know what they say. Beggars can't be choosers.

"Hmm. Well, when you put it that way, I can work with that," I said.

A smile spread across Cindy's face, "Partners?"

I nodded, "Partners."

I was suddenly plowed into by a flurry of feathers and I found myself flat on my back with Capistrano perched on me.

"Don't do that again Corin!" Capistrano cried and dissolved into a fit of tears, "I would miss you too much!"

I tentatively reached up with a paw and patted him on one of his wings. "Yeah...ok starly. Uh... You can get off me now. Bad shoulder an' all."

He flapped off me and I rolled over as Bud twirled on his nubby legs. "Yours and Cindy's words! So inspiring! I must devise a dance! I shall christen it, "Friendship blossoms anew!"

"I wish you wouldn't," I sighed as I limped toward Cindy. Treacle fell into step beside me.

"You're lucky you know," she smiled.

"Really now?"

"Oh yes. You're lucky that I didn't have to hunt you down and drag your sorry butt back here. How am I supposed to protect you if I'm with Cindy?"

I shrugged, "You could have always left too."

"You dumb fuzzball. I'm having too much fun with her to just up and leave. Besides, it would have been a short chase with you anyway. Even without your injured leg you're slower than frozen honey."

I waggled my eyebrows at her, "Hey. I'm the male. I do the chasing sweetheart."

"Ugh, you're disgusting," She scoffed but then her voice went a few shades lower. "You should try not being so old fashioned sometime. Who knows, you might enjoy being chased."

She flipped her sinuous body over me and with a few more graceful motions, went back to Cindy's side. It took me a few seconds to pick my jaw up off the ground and I looked over the edge to the town below.

"So this first gym," I said to Cindy. "What are we facing?"

"Roark is the gym leader. He's known for using rock type pokemon."

I sighed and flopped down on my front placing my chin on my paws.

"Guess that means I sit this one out." I mumbled, "I can run circles around rock types, but it's pointless if I can't make even make a dent in those guys."

Cindy smiled and she began rummaging in her bag. "I think I can fix that Corin."

I angled my head up at her, "What? How?"

Cindy practically had her head buried in her pack as she searched. "Daddy told me I would know who to give this to. I think you would use this the best...where is tha- oh! Here it is!" She drew out what she had been looking for with a flourish.

It looked like a disc that humans stick into their computers to make things happen on them. Don't look at me like that. I'm just an eevee. I don't know how computers work.

I rose and padded over to her interested. "What is it?"

Cindy ran a forefinger across the surface of the disc and it activated with a flicker of light. "Something that will give you and edge against rock types."

_"It's a TM,"_ Sye's voice entered my confused thoughts. _"A very useful one for you at that."_

I watched as the flickers of light morphed into a hologram that danced across the disc's surface until it took shape and began a loop of a repetitive motion. It took me a minute to realize that this was a move. It was something I knew I could learn. Very easily in fact.

I couldn't help myself. My face stretched into a wide, wicked grin.

Author's note:

Ok, I'm going to stop apologizing for late submissions. Not to be arrogant, far from it. I just think you all are getting a little tired of reading my apologies if you even read these at all which is perfectly fine too. Work has been since it's nearing the end of the summer and my animation classes are really demanding my time. I will promise you this. I intend to finish this story because I simply HATE leaving a story unfinished. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to you guys as well. So I think you for your patience. I had been working on this chapter for a while and I hope it was worth the wait.

I need to ask if anyone knows. Does anyone know how to add separations within a chapter? Like this one for example. The battles end in this chapter and Corin going back in his ball was meant to be separated. I have added dashes and asterisks, but they do not seem to show up when I submit my chapters and preview them. If anyone knows how to get around this, i would greatly appreciate it if you told me. Thank you!


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